Snow-Cap Community Charities

SnowCap Expands Hours to Meet Growing Need
Facing growing lines of people needing food boxes, SnowCap and the Centennial Learning Center (CLC) have partnered to deliver additional services to east county families. Effective immediately, SnowCap will be open until 5:30 PM on Tuesdays. This will enable more low income families to access emergency food boxes and it will provide real world learning for CLC students.

Students will learn customer service skills, inventory control, and gain experience with databases. They will learn to work as a team and take direction well. These are all practical skills that will serve them well in the world of work. Most important, they will learn the joys of helping others as they work to adjust to the new economy.

SnowCap is grateful to CLC for their volunteer service. Now the challenge will be to bring in enough food to fill the additional food boxes that will be packed during the expanded hours. Food donations are gladly accepted 9-3 weekdays at 17788 SE Pine.

SnowCap Struggling to Meet 25% Increase in Need

As of March, the most recent period for which statistics are available, requests are up 25 percent.

“We regularly are serving people who never dreamed of visiting an agency for the purpose of
receiving food from a charity,” says SnowCap Executive Director Judy Alley.

Alley and her staff meet people daily who have become separated from their job through no fault of their own.
Increasingly, the organization is assisting white-collar workers who’ve been laid off relatively recently.

Many are visiting SnowCap after their employer downsizes, merges or enacts a furlough.

“In the current economic climate, these triggers have a substantial ripple effect. All it takes for many people is one or two missed paydays until they need community assistance,” Alley says.

SnowCap operates one of a handful of food pantries that serve east Multnomah County. The agency allows an individual and families to receive an emergency food box two times annually. The organization distributes over 85,000 pounds of food monthly, which represents only a small portion of the need for emergency food.

Nearly 500,000 Oregonians—12.4 percent—live in households that are “food insecure,” according to a study by U.S. Department of Agriculture. Those numbers put Oregon in third place for the state where people have the least food security.

Those statistics likely understate the current situation, considering the study is based upon data collected between 2005 and 2007.

In an attempt to keep pace with heightened need, the organization is continuing to build awareness of the issue of food insecurity and expand its network of partnerships and supporters.

HSMAI selects SnowCap as beneficiary for annual fundraising event!

HSMAI (Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International) is a global organization of sales and marketing professionals representing all segments of the hospitality industry. With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry while operating as a leading voice for both hospitality and sales and marketing management disciplines, as well as connecting its members with customers.

In recognition of SnowCap's outstanding work in feeding the hungry, HSMAI has selected the organization to benefit from their annual auction on June 13th. SnowCap is grateful for the support of these business professionals.