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Federal Report Finds Food Insecurity Worse In Oregon Since The Pandemic

More Oregonians were food insecure, couldn’t afford groceries or outright skipped meals in 2023, compared to 2020. That’s according to an annual U.S. Department of Agriculture household food security report released Wednesday.

While inflation is cooling down, prices at grocery stores still remain high for many people. In Oregon, food insecurity rates rose sharply to 12% from 2021-2023, an increase from 9.2% from 2018-2020, according to the USDA report. That means more than 400,000 people – including many of the state’s children – were food insecure, or didn’t know where their next meal was coming from.

The state was one of six states where very low food security rates rose as well – essentially when people are in a more severe situation and are skipping meals because they can’t afford adequate food. Nationally, 13.5% of households were food insecure at least sometime during the year.

The report aligns with the spike in need for emergency food assistance across Oregon over the last few years, said Morgan Dewey, a spokesperson for the Oregon Food Bank.

“For the last couple of years we’ve seen a record-breaking number of visits across our more than 1,400 food assistance sites across Oregon and Southwest Washington,” Dewey said. “This data absolutely confirms the anecdotes that we’ve seen on the ground and what those local food pantries are saying.”

Sarah Weber-Ogden, co-executive director for Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, said she attributes the sharp increase to the rising cost of living, but also to the end of pandemic-era assistance programs, which kept many families afloat during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s really showing us that government programs that provide access to food are actually very successful in keeping our neighbors out of food insecurity,” she said. “And that can give us a roadmap for moving forward and taking next steps in light of this data.”

Weber-Ogden said going into the 2025 state legislative session, she and other advocates will make universal free school meals a top priority, which would help address hunger among children. While free meals are available in all  three of Oregon’s largest school districts, that’s not the case for all schools, Weber-Ogden said.

“We’re not all the way there…we have a small gap to close to get there, but it is going to require that lawmakers prioritize this now,” she said.

Dewey said the Oregon Food Bank, along with other advocates, including Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, will work to introduce the Food for All Oregonians policy during next year’s legislative session as well. The bill would extend benefits similar to SNAP, informally known as food stamps, to over 62,000 Oregonians currently ineligible to apply because of their immigration status.

“This would directly put money in people’s pockets to buy food,” she said. “It would get Oregon off the list of those [high food insecurity] states.”

For Weber-Ogden, the report overall highlights the need for stronger policies to reduce food insecurity rates.

“This data really should be a wake up call to lawmakers in a state as abundant as Oregon,” she said. “There’s no reason why we should be seeing food insecurity rates like this.”  (SOURCE)

Oregon boosts emergency preparedness with new evacuation software

Oregon Emergency Mangers already seeing significant reduction in time to communicate evacuation information.

Salem, Ore. – In honor of National Preparedness Month, the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) is excited to announce a new contract that will provide advanced evacuation software to all of Oregon’s 36 counties and nine Tribes. The software, from Genasys Inc., will help manage emergency evacuations more effectively across the state.

As Oregon deals with more frequent and severe disasters, it’s essential to have a clear plan for evacuations and support services. While law enforcement handles the immediate evacuation of people, the ODHS Office of Resilience and Emergency Management (OREM) works with local communities to help identify people who need evacuation assistance and ensure people are evacuated to a location that meets their needs.

“Even well-prepared communities face challenges with evacuations, especially when multiple areas are affected. We’re thrilled to offer this new software to all our counties and Tribes,” said Ed Flick, Director of OREM. “This tool will help emergency managers make quick and informed decisions to keep everyone safe. Over the last week the tool was used to coordinate evacuations for the Rail Ridge Fire in Grant, Crook and Wheeler Counties, which is Oregon’s top priority wildfire. National Preparedness Month is a great time for everyone to review their own emergency plans and supplies. For tips, check out Ready.gov.”

The Genasys EVAC software helps with planning and managing evacuations. It allows emergency services to quickly create and update evacuation plans, run realistic simulations, and respond faster during an emergency.

Nick Vora, Emergency Manager for Union County, shared his enthusiasm: “Changing, exporting, and adding evacuation zones for alerts used to be slow and complicated. While there are many great mapping tools out there, they often made it time-consuming to update evacuation zones and get them ready for emergency alerts. It could take 15 to 30 minutes to make these changes and load them into the alert system. With Genasys, however, the process is much faster. You can select and adjust an area and get it ready for alerts in just a few minutes. This quick turnaround makes managing emergency alerts much easier and more efficient.”

“Genasys Protect was instrumental in notifying community members of evacuations during the Falls and Telephone Fires in Harney County. When time is of the essence, being able to instantly notify community members of updated evacuation levels is crucial. We loved the ease of use and the ability to train new staff members on how to use it under one minute. This is an essential tool during wildfires,” said Melinda Todd, Harney County Emergency Manager.

Ken Kehmna, a retired fire chief and advisor at Genasys, added, “After Oregon’s severe fires in 2020, we tested this software in Deschutes and Jackson counties. Both counties saw great results and adopted the software, leading to its statewide use.”

Michael Smith, Senior Vice President at Genasys Protect, emphasized the benefits: “EVAC’s planning and real-time communication features are vital for managing emergencies in any community, from small towns to large cities.”

This new software represents a significant step forward in making sure Oregon is ready for emergencies and can respond quickly and effectively.

About the ODHS Office of Resilience and Emergency Management

ODHS holds four distinct roles through its Office of Resilience and Emergency Management, all of which reduce the impact of disasters on people.

• Mass care:  Planning for and supporting people in the early stage and immediate aftermath of emergencies. Our work includes things like coordinating evacuation assistance, the distribution of life-sustaining goods and services, including hydration, feeding, sheltering, reunification, and distribution of emergency supplies.
• Social services recovery:  Helping people and social services agencies recover. Our Social Services Recovery Coordinators work with survivors and their families to identify barriers to recovery, make a plan to address those barriers, and support the survivors on their journey. Our role also includes helping local social services agencies that may be impacted by the disasters to return to full functioning as soon as possible.
• Continuity of operations:  Ensuring communities’ ongoing access to ODHS services. This includes making sure our offices are open and essential services continue, as well as supporting the agency programs and the case managers who ensure the safety of the tens of thousands of Oregonians who may need extra and early help in an emergency.
• Legislatively directed resilience work:  Warming, cooling and cleaner air shelters; water distribution and resilience hubs. These situations don’t fit what’s traditionally been considered emergencies, but they can have significant impacts on people. The Legislature made OREM the lead for this type of work to help people.

Across all these roles, ODHS develops and relies on partnerships and coordination with public and private organizations at the local and regional levels and with our state and Tribal Nation partners.

Lincoln County, Ore. 5 Sept. 24 – On Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, just after midnight, Oregon State Police SWAT responded to a Lincoln City residence to assist the Lincoln City Police Department with a barricaded suspect. Responding officers made multiple attempts to negotiate with the suspect who fired at police and refused to comply with commands.  The suspect was ultimately shot by responding police and died at the scene.

On Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, at approximately 12:42 p.m., the Lincoln City Police Department requested assistance from local law enforcement agencies regarding an incident involving a suspect shooting at police officers while investigating a parking violation. The suspect fled the scene in a vehicle and later on foot.

Oregon State Police (OSP) responded and deployed a SWAT K-9 unit. The K-9 tracked the suspect to a residence at 1905 NW Jetty Ave. in Lincoln City. Occupants exited the residence and knew the suspect but denied seeing him that day. It was later confirmed the male suspect was within the residence and a search warrant was granted.

OSP SWAT personnel were activated and responded to the scene. Negotiators made numerous attempts at communicating with the suspect as well as issuing verbal commands through a public address system. The suspect made numerous threatening statements and at 2:45 a.m. the suspect began to shoot through windows from within the residence. For unknown reasons, a fire started within the residence. As the fire spread the suspect exited an upstairs window to the roof carrying a rifle. He refused commands to drop the rifle. Shots were fired and the suspect fell from the roof to the ground below.

OSP SWAT personnel secured the suspect’s firearm and pulled him away from the burning residence to render medical aid. He was pronounced deceased by medical personnel at the scene.

Four OSP SWAT members were determined to have fired rounds during the incident.

The Lincoln County Major Crimes Team was activated in accordance with the Lincoln County Deadly Force Plan. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office is assuming the lead investigator role and is being assisted by detectives from the Lincoln City Police Department, Newport Police Department, and Oregon State Police Criminal Investigations Division.