by Annie Kirschner and Donalda Dodson

Dear Partners,

This has been a year of celebration, change and looking forward. In 2016, we marked our 10th anniversary and the retirement of our founding Executive Director. After raising a toast, board and staff spent time mapping out the next few years and how to best pursue our vision of a hunger-free state.

As an organization that seeks to prevent hunger, Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon has many strengths.

We have a strong track record of influencing public policies to lift people out of poverty. Every year, we help connect thousands of children to healthy meals year-round and provide information to tens of thousands of Oregonians about SNAP. We train and equip local partners to find solutions to hunger in their own communities. We convene the formidable experts of the Oregon Hunger Task Force for collective action.

In developing our new strategic plan, we heard from dozens of partners, volunteers and people we serve about how to best increase food security over the next two years. The result is a clear set of objectives and a focus on three goals: pursuing equity, building the anti-hunger movement and strengthening the capacity of our organization.

In our pursuit of equity and justice, we reaffirm the founding declaration of the Oregon Hunger Task Force that “all persons have the right to be free from hunger” and recommit to work on behalf of those disproportionately denied that right. In the next two years, this means digging into the root causes of hunger, like racism, and shifting the way we advocate to include the leadership of those most impacted.

We appreciate the many supporters who help us achieve our mission and look forward to partnering with you!

Sincerely,

Annie Kirschner
Executive Director

Donalda Dodson
Board Chair

View the PDF version of the Strategic Plan