PRINEVILLE, Ore. — When Michelle Jonas set out to start a food pantry at Pioneer High School last fall, she wasn’t sure where to begin.
As the assistant principal of the alternative high school in Prineville, Jonas saw firsthand how food insecurity hinders students’ academic success. Many of her students don’t have stable housing. Some are couch surfing or staying with friends. Few have consistent access to food.
“So being able to access food on their own and not have to depend on their families is really important,” Jonas said.
“In a rural, small community like ours, things have to grow organically. It’s not about dumping responsibilities on someone just because there’s a need. It’s about finding neighborhood coordinators who really know their neighbors and are passionate about helping.”
In September 2024, she reached out to Crook County Green Bags, a nonprofit food collection program co-founded by Oregon State University Extension Service nutrition educator Shawna Holland. The Green Bags team quickly responded by delivering two rounds of donations to help Jonas get the school’s pantry started.
Now, with additional grants and community support, the Pioneer High School pantry is stocked with two tall shelves of nonperishable foods that students can grab during the school day.
Peanut butter, jelly and bread are among the most popular items, Jonas said. Stews and oatmeal, foods that students can heat on their own, quickly run out, so these are items that the Pioneer High School emphasized when accepting donations.
“It was nice to have community members like the Green Bags rally around us,” Jonas said. “I really appreciate that they see the importance of meeting students’ basic needs and how it’s crucial for their academic success.”
How it starts
Crook County Green Bags began with a simple idea: neighbors helping neighbors.
In early 2024, members of Crook County Sustainable Food Solutions, a coalition of local volunteers, recognized that the county’s food pantries were struggling to keep up with demand.
Food insecurity was rising in the rural county in Central Oregon. According to the Crook County School District, nearly half of the county’s students qualified for free or reduced-price lunches, and 43% of the families were falling into the ALICE category in 2025 — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. That means they’re working but can’t afford the basics.
“We wanted to help our community with the issues we’re having, and make it more sustainable,” said Holland. “In a rural, small community like ours, things have to grow organically. It’s not about dumping responsibilities on someone just because there’s a need. It’s about finding neighborhood coordinators who really know their neighbors and are passionate about helping.”
Launched in January 2024, Crook County Green Bags modeled itself after successful programs in neighboring communities like Bend and Redmond. Residents can sign up to become food donors, filling a designated green bag with nonperishable items every other month.
Neighborhood coordinators—volunteers who personally know their neighbors — check in, collect the bags and deliver them to a central drop-off location.
At each collection, volunteers sort and distribute food to several local organizations, including Redemption House Ministries, St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, the Department of Human Services’ child welfare visitation rooms and Pioneer High School.
Since the first collection in May 2024, Crook County Green Bags gathered seven and a half tons of food—more than 15,105 pounds—enough for nearly 12,588 meals.
While Crook County Green Bags relies on volunteers and community donations to sustain the program's operations, a grant from the Central Oregon Health Council is helping to keep the program going. The Green Bag team shared a $139,000 grant with several local organizations, which covers essential costs such as purchasing reusable green bags, buying wagons and crates to transport and sort food, printing materials for outreach, and maintaining insurance.
According to board member and grant writer Carol Benkosky, the grant will support the project for at least five years. The team estimates it costs about $8,000 per year to keep the collections running smoothly.
Neighborhood support
What makes Crook County Green Bags work isn’t just food — it’s community connection.
“We’re collecting food, but we’re also encouraging people to get out and know their neighbors,” Holland said. “It brought together people who might not normally interact, but all of them are part of what makes this program successful.”
Currently, 21 neighborhoods in Crook County have coordinators who collect donations. The program continues to grow through word of mouth, as coordinators text, call or knock on doors to recruit donors.
Some donors give every collection cycle. Others skip a round when times are tight—and that’s OK.
“I think what makes it work is you do what you can when you can,” Holland said. “People want to help, and we make it really easy to do that.”
The program collects nonperishable food such as pasta, canned vegetables, cereal, peanut butter and jelly. Volunteers ask donors to avoid glass containers for safety, since collection days involve moving large amounts of food. There’s also a focus on foods that are easy to open — like pop-top cans, granola bars and fruit cups — to support children, seniors and people without access to kitchens.
Meeting different needs
Holland noted that a unique aspect of Crook County Green Bags is that instead of funneling donations to just one pantry, the team works with multiple organizations to meet different community needs.
For example, Redemption House Ministries, which runs an outreach program serving seven homeless camps around Prineville, receives high-protein foods that can sustain people living outdoors.
“It’s important to have a high-protein diet when you’re homeless because it takes a lot of energy just to get water outdoors and survive in cold weather,” said Vaughn Waugaman, outreach coordinator at Redemption House.
Waugaman personally tailors each delivery. Some boxes contain only canned goods for those without cooking tools; others include ingredients for campers with access to stoves. Since partnering with Crook County Green Bags in July 2024, Redemption House has expanded its outreach from under 100 boxes to 150 food boxes every month.
Waugaman shared the story of “Happy Camp,” a homeless camp near Juniper Canyon. Initially, the residents were cautious and reluctant about Waugaman’s visit. But when he brought diapers and formula to a family with a newborn, a camper who wouldn’t even give his name before started opening up.
“Now, every time I go out there, he wants to start a conversation,” Waugaman said. “It takes a little bit of work sometimes to get through to people and let them know we’re just there to help.”
Crook County Green Bags is still relatively young, but it is already making a measurable difference. Holland said they are grateful for the mentoring from the Redmond Food Project, which helped the Crook County team build their program quickly and efficiently. Now, they’re hoping to pay it forward.
“If there’s another community where a Green Bag program could meet a need, we’d love to mentor them too,” Holland said.
While the Redemption House and Pioneer High only serve individuals in their system, the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry is open to the public. The pantry is open Tuesdays from 12-3 p.m., Wednesdays 4-6 p.m. and Thursdays 12-3 p.m., located at 937 NW Madras Highway in Prineville.
For those who are interested in donating or participating in the Crook County Green Bags, contact [email protected].
The upcoming collection dates are Sept. 20 and Nov. 15 at Prineville Elks Lodge #1814, 151 N. Main St., Prineville.
