Sean C. Morgan
The number of food boxes distributed by Sweet Home Emergency Ministries has decreased by about a third in the past three years, but the arrangements of the families assisted by the nonprofit organization seem to be shifting.
“Our number of food boxes is down,” said Cindy Rice, food pantry manager. “Some of that is because of combined families.”
One household has 21 individuals, including eight adults and 13 children, Rice said. That family receives a larger box than average based on the size of the family. SHEM provides one box of food per month to each of its clients. Each box contains enough food to feed the family for five days.
SHEM is a cooperative relief that has operated since 1980 under the auspices of the Sweet Home Ministerial Association to assist the needy and act as a clearinghouse to meet local emergency needs. SHEM distributes an emergency food box once a month containing enough food for three meals a day to feed a family for four days.
SHEM also sponsors the Manna Meals program, which offers free meals on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday evenings at the United Methodist Church for the homeless, elderly and those who need help in stretching their budget. Meals are served from 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, by SHEM and local churches, hosted by the Sweet Home United Methodist Church at the intersection of 6th Avenue and Ironwood Street.
Sweet Home also has a food pantry operated by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and Rice said that a third food pantry has opened in Sweet Home at the Hope Church, the former Sweet Home Assembly of God, possibly affecting SHEM’s numbers.
“We’ve been closed one Saturday a month,” said SHEM Board President Julie Dedman, noting that that also may have an impact.
SHEM has added 30 new families to its rolls so far this year, 17 in January and 13 in February, Deadman said. In the past couple of years, the organization added a high of 20 new families per month.
At the same time, families leave the rolls regularly as well, she said.
“It’s interesting because you’ll see trends like people will be gone for three years, then they move back.”
In February, Dedman said, SHEM distributed 201 boxes to 675 people. A year earlier, SHEM distributed 204 boxes to 750 people. In January, SHEM distributed 248 boxes, and in January 2017, it distributed 245. In December, it distributed 208 boxes, compared to 202 in December 2016.
A little more than three years ago, SHEM distributed 387 boxes in November 2014, Dedman said. All year, SHEM distributed more than 300 boxes per month.
In 2017, SHEM distributed 2,745 emergency food boxes. In 2016, it provided 3,216 boxes.
According to SHEM statistics, it continued providing more than 300 boxes per month most months of 2015.
The Manna Meal program is drawing an increasing number of people, Dedman said.
Manna had been around 400 to 500 meals per month, Rice said. “It’s actually up to the 800s again.”
Historically, it has provided 900 to 1,000 meals per month, Rice said.
Manna served 7,944 meals in 2017, and SHEM services fed people 10,132 times, including children 3,595 times. In 2016, it served 7,284 meals, and SHEM fed people 12,700 times, including children 4,819 times.
Coming up, SHEM anticipates taking delivery of a new double-door refrigerator to replace single-door refrigerators, Dedman said. The Oregon Food Bank Network provided a grant for the refrigerator.
The new refrigerator is an industrial class appliance, Rice said. The existing refrigerators are rusting out due to age.
SHEM also is planning to expand into the entire building it share with Cascade Gunworks, said volunteer Roger Campbell, Building Committee chairman. In the past year, it has nearly completed an expansion in the back to provide storage space using volunteer labor, with concrete provided at cost by Josh Darwood Construction.
The new area can accommodate a new walk-in cooler and can be expanded another 12 feet to accommodate additional walk-in space, Campbell said.
SHEM recently added a new service, thanks to nursing students at Portland Community College, Rice said. They provide a mini health clinic, including blood pressure screenings and wellness checks, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
In addition to providing food boxes, SHEM also operates Carmen’s Closet, which provides free clothing, shoes, household items and hygiene items to those who need them. It is supported primarily by private donations as well as a small grant from United Way. SHEM also helps with relocation necessities and help for burnout victims.
Food also is available for pets through a partnership with the Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank in Portland.
SHEM, with community partners, provides back-to-school supplies and backpacks for school-aged children before school begins. The program is funded by the Salvation Army bell-ringing project, Carmen’s Closet and private donations. The nonprofit also coordinates a holiday basket program each year.
SHEM is building a new disaster preparedness area, Rice said. It is acquiring supplies, such as bottled water and freeze-dried food that is easy to prepare, to help the community during disasters.
Limited direct financial assistance is available to clients up to three times, and no more than once annually, to pay for help with utilities, rent, prescriptions, propane vouchers for use at Sweet Home RV Center and fuel to reach a doctor’s appointment out of town.
Since SHEM has been open, it has provided more than $150,000 in financial assistance, Dedman said.
“We want to keep people in their houses with water.”
SHEM recently saw an increase in the number of people seeking financial help when the city’s water utility policies changed, requiring full payment of bills to avoid shutoffs.
All of SHEM’s services are provided by volunteers, Dedman said.
“We are always needing more folks to come join us and have fun,” Rice said.
SHEM logged 10,143 volunteer hours in all its programs last year. About 24 people volunteer each month.
“I’m really grateful to be able to continue to be part of this volunteer family,” Rice said. “We can count on each other, and every single one of them is somebody this community should be proud of.”
The program is primarily funded by the United Way of Linn County, the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, private donations and local churches. Food is provided at a heavy discount by Linn-Benton Food Share, part of the Oregon Food Bank, and by area grocers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
SHEM’s 2017 Form 990, an annual public financial report to the Internal Revenue Service, showed $79,000 in revenue and $75,000 in expenses, with net assets of $221,000.
SHEM’s annual budget and additional reports are available for public inspection on its website, shemfoodbank.org.
SHEM, 1115 Long St., is open from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. It may be reached at (541) 367-6504.