How to help people or get food in Salem as SNAP benefits are delayed

Salem Reporter will update this guide as needed during the SNAP benefits delay. If there’s something we should include, email Managing Editor Rachel Alexander at [email protected].

Tens of thousands of local families are struggling to put food on the table as federal food benefits won’t go out Nov. 1. Each month, families in Marion and Polk counties receive almost $16 million to spend at local grocery stores through the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP.

A patchwork of nonprofit and individual efforts are working to fill the gaps. Here’s how you can get involved, whether you want to give food or need help.

This information was updated on Monday, Nov. 3, with additional businesses and resources.

Businesses offering pantry supplies, free meals

On Any Sundae, the ice cream shop at 3987 Commercial St. S.E., is operating a free food giving table. Anyone can drop off items or take what they need.

Don Froylan Creamery, 3310 Portland Rd. N.E. is offering free meals for lunch and dinner to anyone who didn’t receive SNAP benefits on the honor system, no proof needed. Just ask for an adult SNAP meal or kids SNAP meal. Will be offered until benefits are restored.

Burgerville, which has a Salem location at 220 Lancaster Dr. S.E., is offering a free kids’ cheeseburger or hamburger basket through Nov. 9, or until SNAP benefits are reinstated. Available to any parent who presents an EBT card.

Ike Box, 299 Cottage St. N.E., is offering free breakfasts including a coffee and select menu item from 7-9 a.m. to people who present their SNAP cards. Customers can donate at the store to support the effort.

West Salem Shao-Lin Kempo, which is located at 735 Edgewater St. N.W., has its own food sharing table where anyone can drop off or take food. It will be open Friday from 3-7 p.m., and Saturday from 7-2 p.m.

Food pantries and nonprofits

Salem-Keizer Mutual Aid is collecting donations weekly of shelf-stable items on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and distributing food 1-4 p.m. at Radness Ensues, 3837 River Road N. in Keizer.

Marion Polk Food Share supplies most food pantries in the greater Salem area. Cash donations help the food share buy what’s needed most. Food can also be donated directly to the food share’s warehouse at 1660 Salem Industrial Dr. N.E. between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays.

People can also donate directly to pantries. A list of pantries the food share supports is here, including open hours.

For people who need help, pantries don’t require identification or proof of income, though people are asked to verify they make less than the income caps set by the federal government: $63,450 for a couple or $96,450 for a family of four.

The top five items the food share needs are shelf-stable dairy products, oats or cereal, canned fruit, tuna and peanut butter.

Punx with Purpose runs a food pantry out of Stormie’s Place, its downtown drop-in center for teens. Donate to support their work here. The center is open for youth 11-18 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 2-6 p.m. in the basement of the Citizens Bank building at 333 High St. N.E.

The Center for Hope and Safety, which supports domestic violence and human trafficking survivors, is assembling food boxes to deliver to clients in need. Support their effort by buying needed items from their Amazon wishlist here or donating unexpired, non-perishable food to their downtown office, 605 Center St. N.E., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.

The ARCHES Project offers food to families in need at its resource center, 1255 Broadway Suite 110. Nonperishable food donations can be dropped off during open hours, Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Recycled bottle and can deposits can be turned into donations to food assistance nonprofits. Through Nov. 30, BottleDrop accountholders can use their account funds to donate to the OBRC Emergency Fund, which will go to statewide food banks including Marion Polk Food Share. The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative will match the first $35,000 in donations. Learn more here.

Help families through school

Every local school has families in need. While a handful have food pantries on offer, all schools can use grocery store gift cards to give out to struggling families, district officials told Salem Reporter. Those let families get perishable items that can be harder to come by and to pick out foods that work best for them.

About half of the schools in the Salem-Keizer School District are known as Title I schools, meaning they serve a high share of students living in poverty and will have especially high needs. A list of those schools is here.

Within the Salem-Keizer School District, most school offices have a community school outreach coordinator whose job is to help coordinate resources for families. Some schools employ social workers, and at many schools, counselors also help. People can reach out to those workers at their neighborhood school to coordinate larger donations.

At Highland Elementary School in north Salem, Katie Costic is coordinating donations and help for school families. She can be reached at [email protected]. 

Hot meals

Salem Soup Squad offers free hot meals Saturdays in November in Marion Square Park, 551 Commercial St. N.E., and Monday, Nov. 10 and 24, in Wallace Marine Park at 200 Glen Creek Rd. N.W. Meals are offered from 2-4 p.m., and volunteers are needed to make or order food and serve it. Sign up to help here. Anyone can come and eat.

A list of hot meal sites supported by the food share is here.

The ARCHES Day Center offers warm meals Wednesday-Sunday for adults at 615 Commercial St. N.E. The center is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Breakfast is served at 9 a.m. and lunch at noon. Food donations are accepted during open hours. The biggest need is for frozen commercially packaged ground beef, chicken and turkey.

Give directly to people, or get help from neighbors

Join your neighborhood Buy Nothing group. There’s no cash exchange allowed, but you can offer groceries, gift cards or keep an eye out for neighbors who need help.

Kindness Closet of Salem operates a public Facebook group intended for people who are homeless to get help with basic needs. 

Some people in the Salem area are organizing efforts to get food to people in need through a new Salem-Keizer Mutual Aid group.

Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.

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