Grant County faces significant challenges with food insecurity and poverty, with 13.5% of its 7,200 residents struggling to access adequate nutrition and a child poverty rate of 21.5%. These rates are notably higher than the state averages, contributing to a cycle of hardship that limits access to essential resources and opportunities.
Addressing these issues is crucial for improving the county's overall well-being and economic stability, especially given its low population density.
Bonni Booth, who coordinates Oregon State University Extension Service’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) in Grant County, has been instrumental in tackling these challenges through the Backpack Program.
Booth wrote a grant awarded to the Grant County Education Service District to create the program, which is designed to provide students from prekindergarten though the 12th grade with nonperishable food items on non-school days. In addition to nonperishable food items, grant funds cover basic hygiene supplies for students. All five school districts in the county participate in the program.
When the Backpack Program started, it was a struggle to find a host site for food storage, partners to help fill and deliver bags, and to determine a system for distribution. Formal and informal meetings and discussions were held with several community partners. From those meetings, a partnership formed between OSU Extension and Cornerstone Church, Juvenile Justice, Blue Mountain Hospital and Strawberry Wilderness Clinic.
The Backpack Program has a consistent, secure host site at Cornerstone Church, a committee of health care personnel to fill and distribute reusable grocery shopping bags, and Juvenile Justice youths to help sort and organize items. The Grant County Local Community Health Partnership and Oregon Department of Human Services in Grant County are also partners in the program.
The collaboration with community partners led to several donations. In June 2024, the Grant County Health Department made a large donation of nonperishables and hygiene items from their unused COVID-19 funding. Blue Mountain Hospital held a canned food drive and donated all proceeds to the Backpack Program. Chester’s Markets’ store in John Day donated a large amount of the grocery shopping bags.
Since partnering with Cornerstone Church, the program has expanded to a program operated by Juvenile Justice, which originally did not include food and was designed for youths placed in emergency foster care.
As a result, the Backpack Program is operated through a more comprehensive model that addresses the needs of not only foster care youths, but underserved, impoverished youths that don’t have access to food and other basic resources. Some schools have a higher level of need than others. For those schools, nonperishables are delivered once a month, and then the schools fill bags and distribute them to students.
As of mid-April, 144 bags and 1,167 pounds of food have been distributed to youths through the Backpack Program. By providing nutritious food and hygiene supplies to underserved youths, the program improves health and stability, supporting student success and strengthening the resilience of Grant County families.
