The pandemic brought many challenges to our community, including access to food. According to the Oregon Food Bank, “Oregon’s food insecurity rate rose 21% between 2019 and 2020, with the height of the pandemic resulting in nearly 1.7 million neighbors seeking food assistance — double what we saw in the prior year.”

Irma works with children at a school in Beaverton. Due to COVID-19, they closed in April for five straight months, and they don't receive pay during the closures. They re-opened in July, but have to close for fourteen days each time there is a COVID case in the building. That's happened three times since they re-opened in July.

Gladis, our school cook, is chopping up juicy pineapples while a pot of posole bubbles on the stove. Colorful meals are being arranged on tiny plates, and small cups are milk are being poured. These meals will feed our youngest students — children in our Early Childhood Education Program.

Normally, Adelante staff would meet for group cooking sessions and have the opportunity to share ideas, recipes, and tips. But when COVID-19 hit Oregon and in-person classes were no longer a safe option, the Adelante Mujeres team started brainstorming. Eating healthy and access to nutritious food would be more important than ever before. But how would they reach families?

Adelante Mujeres is currently working to distribute vouchers for families to purchase local foods at farmers markets throughout Washington County. Learn more!

For many people, staying healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic is accomplished by social distancing and working from home. But what about essential workers who can’t stay home — people who have to keep working in order to keep food on their family’s table? This is what Leobardo López and Alma Hernandez are currently facing.

When we talk about building Latina leaders at Adelante Mujeres, this is a perfect example of what we mean. Elvira participated in our Nourish the Community Program and now she is a strong community leader who now runs a food pantry, providing food to families in need during the current COVID-19 crisis.

See what our Nourish The Community team has been up to the last couple of months!

With the holidays coming up it can be difficult to focus on healthy eating. But we have some exciting news that might help you feel connected to others who have made the commitment to eat more veggies all year long!