Portland Organizations and Grassroots Efforts Feeding Black Communities

Twenty eight percent of Black Oregonians are food-insecure, according to the Oregon Hunger Task Force. While many organizations exist to help the broader food-insecure population of Oregon — from mammoth groups like the Oregon Food Bank to smaller grassroots projects like the Free Lunch Collective, a few are explicitly working to feed people of color or, even more specifically, food-insecure Black Portlanders. Some are providing CSAs purchased from BIPOC-owned farms, while others are providing farm and gardening training to Black Portlanders interested in agriculture and food sovereignty. Below, find a list of various organizations working within the greater Portland area, or support Black business owners pursuing food service and farming work. Know of a local organization not on this list? Let us know via our tip line.

The Equitable Giving Circle

The Equitable Giving Circle started with one good idea: Buy produce from farmers of color as a CSA, and then donate those produce boxes to communities of color experiencing food insecurity. Now, the organization has grown much larger, with weekly free pantries for BIPOC Portlanders and housing initiatives in the works.
How to donate: Donation site

Don’t Shoot Portland

Don’t Shoot Portland does a number of different things to support Portland’s Black community and fight against police violence, from legal workshops to organizing protests and community outreach potlucks. But Don’t Shoot Portland’s work also involves distributing food to marginalized communities, through mutual aid work, free pantry events, and more. In 2020, organizer Teressa Raiford donated more than $1,000 to food cart owner Kiauna Nelson to feed Black Portlanders, and the organization partnered with pop-up Everybody Eats to donate 200 free meals to those in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
How to donate: Donation form

Feed’em Freedom Foundation

The nonprofit branch of this Black-owned farm teaches farming skills to teens and low-income communities, also offering incubator programs for farmers of color and donating CSAs to Black families.
How to donate: Donation site

Black Food Sovereignty Coalition

This coalition helps Black Portlanders develop small business and farming skills by creating a farm incubator, which provides land at subsidized rates, mentorship from farmers of color, and education in business management, farming, and more.
How to donate: blackfoodnw.org/donate

• A map of Black-owned restaurants in Portland [SBOR]
• The Portland Restaurants Donating to Organizations Serving Black Communities [EPDX]
• Eater Portland tip line [EPDX]

Updated Tuesday, November 23, 2021: This story was updated to include new donation links.