Food distribution is held during the school year.  This program does not operate during the summer months. To be eligible, a referral needs to be completed. 

All OCSD secondary administrators, counselors and staff are familiar with procedures to refer food-insecure students to The Pioneer Pantry. It is NOT a government program. All food and supplies are paid for by donations.

Information is kept confidential. We encourage you to take advantage of this program for your family and your children.

What is The Pioneer Pantry?

The purpose of The Pioneer Pantry is to provide a bag of nonperishable food to students in need that they can take home and eat when school meal programs are unavailable. These students often go hungry over the weekend because they do not have access to food. The goal is to ensure that these students (and their families) have food when their primary source (free and reduced meals at school) is not available.

We serve high school students at OCHS, OCSLA, CAIS, and Bridges to Independence.

The Problem

Each school year there are more than one hundred unhoused students attending Oregon City’s high schools. These teens, and the many hundreds more who qualify as food-insecure, don’t always know where their next meal is coming from and often come to school hungry. While the National School Lunch Program helps fill that need during the school week, what happens to these students over weekends and school breaks?

The Solution

A ‘backpack’ program designed by a small team of staff and volunteers led by then-principal Tom Lovell. The Pioneer Pantry began providing weekend food bags to homeless and food-insecure students at OCHS in September of 2014. Within one year, we expanded our mission of “Feeding Bodies and Minds” to include OCSLA, CAIS and Jackson Prep.

Successes

Over 4,000 backpacks of food were provided to students during the 2018-19 school year. The Pioneer Pantry is credited for contributing to the graduation of dozens of homeless students since its inception. Service clubs, businesses, individuals, and churches support the mission of The Pioneer Pantry with financial contributions and food drives to meet the needs of our students. The Pioneer Pantry partners with the Oregon Food Bank to increase the impact of each dollar donated.

Making a Difference

The estimated cost of the 4,000 backpacks – or 8,000 meals – to be provided by The Pioneer Pantry each school year is over $30,000. We rely on your generosity to provide the funding needed to help make a difference in the lives of these students.