Regional Food System Assessment

BACKGROUND

Emergency food provisions have always been part of disaster planning, but recent events have caused emergency planners to reconsider their approach. The fragile nature of food supply chains and inequities in food access were put into stark relief by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic demonstrated how various shocks may compromise and exacerbate food insecurity in the Portland Metropolitan Region, particularly for communities of color and low-income households.

CURRENT WORK (2024-present)

A follow-on project to conduct a larger assessment started in February 2024. This assessment looks to answer “Where will the food system break and what does emergency management need to do to respond quickly, efficiently and equitably and speed recovery?” and provide recommendations and next steps for the emergency management community to strengthen food system preparedness and resilience.

PROJECT MANAGER

PROJECT TASK FORCE

The Project Task Force (PTF) is a group of expert collaborators with specific experiences, particularly around emergency management, to help develop these food system assessment findings and recommendations.

  • Julia Bishop, Regional Feeding Lead, American Red Cross

  • Chris Chuculate, Associate Director of Distribution & Warehousing, Oregon Food Bank

  • Stephanie Coleman, Emergency Planning and Operations Coordinator, Clackamas County Social Services

  • Renee Curtis, Emergency Management Analyst Senior, Multnomah County Department of County Human Services

  • Danny Faccinetti, Director of Operations, Oregon Food Bank

  • Jeff Gilbert, Regional Emergency Coordinator, Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Office of Resilience and Emergency Management (OREM)

  • Justine Magnoni-Garver, Mitigation and Recovery Emergency Management Coordinator, Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA)

  • Sonya McCormick, Public Private Partnership (P3) Program Manager, Oregon Department of Emergency Management

  • Rachit Nerwal, (Acting) Chief Resilience Officer, Portland Bureau of Emergency Management

  • Emily Straw, Director of Technical Program Support, Clark County Food Bank

  • Mary Ellen Winterhalter, Resilience Coordinator, Clackamas County Public Health

  • Courtney Yan, Emergency Management Coordinator, Emergency Management Cooperative of Washington County

PUBLIC-PRIVATE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN ADVISORY GROUP

The Public-Private Food Supply Chain Advisory Group is a group of representatives from relevant sectors for food system emergency preparedness. Members include private and public sector leaders representing insurance, utilities, food distributors, food processors, grocery stores, and the financial sector, in addition to community-based organizations, emergency management, Tribes and the Departments of Agriculture and Transportation from both OR and WA.

CONSULTING TEAM

PRIOR WORK

PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY STUDY (2022-2023)

This study, led by Dr. Megan Horst, was funded by the Metropolitan Engaged Research Initiative (MERI) grants program, of the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies at Portland State University. The main goal of this project was to contribute to an understanding of how frontline-serving food security organizations in the Portland region adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergencies in 2020-2022 and how they addressed increased rates of food insecurity among the region’s residents.

SCOPING STUDY (2021-2022)

The structure, mission, and vision of RDPO makes it uniquely suited to take initiative on food system resilience in the Portland Metropolitan Region. The RDPO engaged a consulting team from The Feeding Cities Group in September 2021 for a five-month project to:

  1. Explore whether a comprehensive assessment of the vulnerability of the regional food system is needed; and

  2. Establish a foundation of work that would allow RDPO to refine a scope and objectives for future food system resilience research and planning.

For additional info, please contact Carol Chang, RDPO, carol.chang@portlandoregon.gov.