Review is sponsored by area ministries; results will be released Tuesday

More than 100 people will show up at First Christian Church in downtown Corvallis this weekend looking for something other than good singing and inspirational preaching.

They go because of the hot meal church volunteers serve at 10 a.m. on Saturdays and at 5:30 p.m. each Sunday.

Several hundred more are fed other days of the week at St. Mary's Catholic Church by the Stone Soup ministry that serves seniors, families, transients and students.

"We served 26,000 meals last year, 5,000 more than in 2004," said Sister Kathy Carr, social ministry coordinator at St. Mary's. "It looks like this year we'll serve 30,000 meals.

"Hunger and poverty are not going away. The need is actually increasing," Carr said.

Participants in a recently completed Benton County community food assessment hope their efforts might change that.

A report on the yearlong study, titled "From Our Own Soil," will be released Tuesday evening at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library.

"Anyone who eats is invited," said Liv Gifford, project manager. "I hope policy makers, parents, chefs, even school teachers dealing with undernourished kids, will come."

Gifford, who was hired by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon to oversee the countywide food assessment, is convinced the entire community needs to learn more about issues related to food security.

"Food security means having access to a nutritionally adequate and culturally appropriate diet from non-emergency food resources," Gifford said.

It goes beyond just having enough food. People need access to healthy food, and they ought to be able to get rice rather than macaroni if that's what they're used to because of their cultural or ethnic background, she explained.

Based at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Gifford enlisted the help of Oregon State University's anthropology department and Rural Studies Initiative, Ten Rivers Food Web, the Corvallis Environmental Center, local emergency food suppliers and church representatives in the study launched in October 2005 as part of the EMO's Interfaith Food and Farms Partnership.

The project was funded by EMO, the Rural Studies Initiative and a USDA Community Food Projects grant.

Previous studies conducted by OSU faculty and graduate students in the anthropology department on the local farming economy and low-income residents in rural parts of the county were considered alongside more recent interviews with 15 small family farmers, hundreds of low-income residents serviced by Corvallis food banks and nearly a dozen faith communities.

"It was a fairly broad assessment in terms of who we talked to about many aspects of our food system," Gifford said before sharing some of the results of the study which focused on three main issues - the challenges small growers face in Benton County, barriers to food access for low-income residents and the role of faith communities in addressing food security issues.

Homegrown food

Very little of the mid-valley's agricultural land is dedicated to food production. Most edible crops are losing ground to grass seed, the report states.

Of the food that is produced here, only about 2 percent of it is consumed locally, Gifford said.

If there were more local marketing opportunities for small farmers - a concept embraced by a majority of the farmers interviewed - low-income people would have better access to fresh produce, she said. This would be especially true if farmers' markets in Benton County had the electronic equipment necessary to accept food stamps.

Area farmers said they want to sell more of their products to regional hospitals, corporate dining rooms and to local schools, including OSU's dining halls and Greek houses. They also mentioned the benefits of having a local food processing facility, which would increase their profits and offer more incentive to residents to purchase local food.

"In general, they'd like consumers to better understand the value of local and organic food sources," Gifford explained. "It's fresher, it tastes better and it supports the local economy while reducing the adverse effects of shipping."

The study showed most low-income people are interested in eating more locally grown food but they also thought it costs more.

According to Nancy Rosenberger, a professor in OSU's anthropology department and a participant in the study, this is one of the significant challenges revealed by the food assessment.

"First and foremost, low-income people need to survive and they shop for the cheapest prices," she explained.

"They think that farmers' markets are way too expensive for them. They are busy and tired working long hours for low wages. They are hounded by expenses of housing, utilities, cars and medical crises. Food provides the elastic give in their budget," Rosenberger said.

Counting the cost

Gifford agreed the cost of groceries compared to a family's other household expenses is a major cause of food insecurity in Benton County. In more than 100 contacts made with people who receive help from Linn Benton Food Share and other emergency food sources, not having enough money to buy adequate food was a common theme.

During one interview, a woman said, "First of the month, I get my food stamps. Second of the month, we go out and we do major shopping. … That's got to last us all month."

Another said, "It's hard to pay for food. We have to balance the budget: house first, utilities second, drugs third, food fourth, phone, cable, newspaper at the end. If there is no money, these go."

According to the Oregon Center for Public Policy, soaring housing costs - along with the high cost of health care and stagnated wages - contributed heavily to Oregon's ranking among the hungriest states in the nation in recent years.

The food assessment reports more than half of Benton County families spend at least 30 percent or more of their income on housing, the upper limit of what financial experts recommend should be spent on housing.

Statewide, 53 percent of emergency food recipients spend at least half their income on housing and 25 percent spend at least 75 percent.

When housing is that expensive, it's not surprising that more and more people are forced to seek emergency food supplies, Gifford said.

The number of people relying on food boxes from Linn Benton Food Share has increased 45 percent since 1997 and by 15 percent in just the last two years.

"The fact that the South Corvallis Food Bank was started five years ago and it hasn't made a dent in the other food banks' business, indicates we still have a lot of work to do," Gifford said.

The role of faith

"The good news is low-income people can get a hot meal every day of the week here," said Gifford, referring to the Stone Soup program.

Many faith communities offer assistance to low-income residents directly through food pantries, holiday food baskets or community food drives and by volunteering at local food banks.

Churches are a natural conduit for aid because they have an organized volunteer force and are usually committed to social justice issues, Gifford said. They are also in a great position to influence a lot of people, she added.

Eight churches and eight family farms participated in a program titled "That's My Farmer" this past year that allowed congregants to buy a book of farmers' market coupons for $20. Two dollars from each book sold was used to purchase coupons to give away through food pantries and gleaners groups.

The program sold more than $12,000 worth of coupons and allowed a lot of low-income people to buy fresh, local produce, said Gifford. The coupons will be offered again next year, and participating churches will be asked to expand their commitment to local farmers by inviting them to speak to their congregation and by incorporating locally grown food into their weekly meals and special celebrations.

"The survival of family farms is essential to community food security. As such, our aim is to mobilize the faith community as a basis of support for these farms," Gifford said.

On Tuesday, Gifford, Rosenberger and OSU graduate student Chris Bates will make presentations on various aspects of the community assessment. A panel discussion will follow to allow people to ask questions about the study.

"I think this will be just the beginning of a long conversation," said Rosenberger, adding that there have already been some promising meetings between local farmers and representatives from OSU eateries about using more locally grown food on campus.

Gifford agreed the "From Our Own Soil" presentation is just a start.

"Our hope is that it will lead to more conversation and positive changes in the community," she said.

If you go

Results of "From Our Own Soil," a countywide food assessment sponsored by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, will be released at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 N.W. Monroe Ave.

ON THE NET: Once the results of the assessment have been released publicly, the full report will be posted at www.emoregon.org.

Carol Reeves covers religion for the Gazette-Times. She can be reached by e-mail at carol.reeves@lee.net or by phone at 758-9516.