Saturday, Oct. 17
Items needed: Soups, chili, tuna,
peanut butter, macaroni and cheese,
healthy snacks, dinner mixes, cereal,
pasta, canned fruits and vegetables,
flour, sugar, diapers, personal
hygiene items and coffee.
How to help: Set a sack of donations
on your doorstep by 9 a.m. Sturday, Oct. 17
to be picked up by a SACA volunteer or
drop off at 421 S. Water St. from
8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. weekdays.
503-873-3446
By Kristine Thomas
Silverton Area Community Aid Executive Director Teresa Warriner is counting down the days until the 39th annual Food Drive on Saturday, Oct. 17.
And she’s hoping what’s on the food bank’s shelves now will be enough to serve the between 200 to 400 families who visit each month.
“What you see on the shelves is all we have left. We are getting really low,” Warriner said in early October. “We count on the food drive each October to replenish our shelves.”
In 2014 the drive netted 10,000 pounds of food.
“Last year, we gave away 500,000 pounds of food,” Warriner said. “We depend on donations and we receive 30 percent of our food from Marion-Polk Food Share, that delivers each week to SACA.”
Although the economy has picked up, Warriner said many people are still struggling to make it.
“Look around here,” Warriner said. “We haven’t slowed down. We opened an hour ago and we already have three requests for financial assistance to pay water and electric bills. The requests for financial assistance have increased the last three months. We aren’t sure of the reason why.”
Reasons clients visit SACA are varied. A car breaks down and a family is faced with the choice of paying to get it fixed or paying a utility bill. Or a health issue crops up and a job is lost. Or there’s a cutback in work hours and a paycheck shrinks. Housing, food, utilities – the bills don’t stop despite the changed circumstances.
“People think we live in Mayberry. There are hunger issues in our community. Most people don’t have any idea about the need for food and help people need. There are families, people you know, who are struggling to make ends meet,” Warriner said. “We joke that we think we need to have a reality TV show to give community members an idea what happens here and who we are serving.”
Warriner said there has been a subtle but significant change happening at Silverton Area Community Aid.
“We are becoming more of a social service agency,” Warriner said. “We have a case manager who prescreens clients. We offer two classes a month and we provide our clients with resources and referrals for a variety of things from help writing a cover letter and resume to get a job to how to apply for food stamps.”
Warriner said SACA’s goal is to help people become self-sufficient.
“Our ultimate goal is to put ourselves out-of-business. SACA is not a place where people get a hand-out. Instead, it’s a place where they get a hand-up,” Warriner said.
Community members not only give financial and food donations, they also provide the encouragement and reassurance clients need to turn to SACA for help. “Most people are recommended to go to SACA from their friends, family or church.”
Knowing how difficult it can be for someone to ask for assistance, Warriner said its her staff’s and her volunteers’ goal to welcome everyone who comes through the door with a warm and friendly smile.
“We believe in the importance of treating everyone with the respect and dignity that they deserve,” she said.
