For the fourth year in a row, the statewide nonprofit Earth Day Oregon will work to increase the impact of Earth Day.
Earth Day, first held in 1970, occurs each April 22 to support environmental protection.
Earth Day Oregon, founded in 2019, works to increase donations to Oregon nonprofits working to protect the planet. So far, it’s helped raise more than $360,000 for those organizations.
This year, 70 Oregon nonprofits have joined the campaign. Each nonprofit is responsible for gaining support from three Oregon businesses.
In Salem, Farmers Ending Hunger is participating. It’s partnering with Primal Burger, Spudlove Snacks, Murmur Creative and Base Greens.
Farmers Ending Hunger was founded in 2004 by Hermiston farmer Fred Ziari. It works with farmers, food processors, Oregon Food Bank and the public to increase the amount of high-quality food available to local communities.
Farmers grow an extra acre or two to donate to feed the hungry. Some of the food is delivered fresh to Oregon Food Bank, while the rest is processed into shelf-stable food that can be added to emergency relief boxes throughout the year.
More than 30 million pounds of fresh food have been donated to Oregon Food Bank over Farmers Ending Hunger’s existence, executive director John Burt said.
“It’s a lot,” he said. “But it’s nowhere near solving their need for food for the whole network statewide.”
Local farms and processors that are part of the group include: Pearmine Farms in Gervais, Northwest Onion Company in Brooks, and farmers Bruce and Helle Ruddenklau in Amity.
“We live in this area of abundance where we grow so much food,” Helle Ruddenklau said. “It’s nice to know that some of the food we grow ends up with people that can really use it.”
Nonprofits can join Earth Day Oregon if they advance at least one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Farmers Ending Hunger joined last year, after learning that ending hunger was one of the goals, Burt said.
How to participate in Earth Day Oregon
Individuals can participate in three ways:
- Support businesses that are hosting special promotions for nonprofit partners. Primal Burger has two locations in Portland and will be donating 15% of its sales on Earth Day to Farmers Ending Hunger. Base Greens will donate 10% of online sales through April 30, with the code EARTHDAYOREGON on its website at https://basegreens.com/.
- Attend a nonprofit partner’s individual events. There are no events in Salem, but there are some in surrounding communities. Find a list here: https://earthdayor.org/events
- Make a direct donation to a nonprofit partner on April 22.
Find out more at https://earthdayor.org/.
Tracy Loew is a reporter at the Statesman Journal. She can be reached at [email protected], 503-399-6779 or on Twitter at@Tracy_Loew.
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