Capital Campaign Mission Giving Featured Mission Partner: The Northeast Emergency Food Program
“Feed My Sheep”
Are you aware of the transformative effect that FPC’s Capital Campaign Mission Giving gifts have had on our Mission partner Northeast Emergency Food Program (Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon)? Two years ago, at the urging of the discipleship group that started our partnership, NEFP submitted a capital improvement request of $17,500 to renovate/upgrade the pantry. After the request was granted, work was immediately started in August 2019 to install high efficiency, maintenance-free LED lighting fixtures; retile and seal the entire pantry floor; remove walls for safety concerns in order to provide clear lines of sight; repaint; purchase heavy duty shelving; and purchase commercial grade equipment for their Oregon Food Bank’s Food Demonstration Pilot Program.
The Lower Pantry renovations were completed ahead of schedule and made a huge difference. Wide open aisles allowed for more clients to shop and allowed for the offering of more food variety. The new shelving and stainless steel made the sorting, packing and cleaning much easier. The new floors and lighting with no walls blocking the lines of sight made their waiting area much brighter and functional. Best of all, pre-COVID, NEFP was able to use the Lower Pantry as a multi-use space to host luncheons and Oregon Food Bank workshops.
Per NEFP’s Program Manager A’Jay Scipio, the critical difference this Capital Campaign Mission Giving Gift has made happened when COVID came in 2020. NEFP was able to make a massive shift in how they distribute their food boxes to families. When FPC provided them with an emergency grant of $5,000 in the summer of 2020, they upgraded to plastic boxes with plastic trash compactor bags inside to meet cost effectiveness, and reusability requirements. They moved the production lines and pallet jacks inside the building because two major walls were removed during their capital improvements upgrade. Now, they can easily maneuver their equipment in and out of the building.
NEFP has shifted from having the ability to feed a maximum of 130 families in one day to 950 families in one day! NEFP is now the largest food pantry in the State of Oregon and served over 91,400 families in 2020. FPC’s Capital Campaign Mission Giving gifts and faithful volunteers have made an impactful difference in Christ’s charge to “feed my sheep” right here in our local community.
“Without the renovations, NEFP would never have been able to see and know what it could do as a program. The impact of FPC-PDX is still being realized and will continue to be seen, heard, and felt across the state. We didn’t know what challenges were ahead of us in 2019, and we were still figuring it out in 2020-yet YOUR GENEROSITY was the foundation for our being able to PIVOT and continue to grow. We cannot express our thanks enough.” #WeAreNEFP
If you are inspired to volunteer at NEFP, located at Luther Memorial Church, 4800 NE 72nd Ave., Portland, check out their website https://emoregon.org/nefp or contact Bill Resley (kayak500@gmail.com).
~ Capital Campaign Mission Giving Committee – Greg Aldrich, Rev. Brenna Dykman, Kathryn Hill, Linda Killen and Steve Primack
To learn more about First Presbyterian Church of Portland Mission work, follow this link