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The federal government shutdown is affecting funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). If the shutdown continues into November, SNAP benefits will not be issued in Oregon until federal funding resumes. This is unprecedented and the impact on our community will be significant (750,000+ Oregonians and 40 million people nationwide, including 16 million children, currently rely on food assistance through SNAP*).

We anticipate sharply increased demand on all of the food banks in the region – most of whom have already been deeply impacted by budget cuts. Please consider ways that you can help. Donations are always welcome, but most organizations need volunteers even more urgently.

• Can you turn an upcoming staff meeting into a service trip?
• Can you give bonus points in your class for volunteering at a local site or include that option for an experiential learning or civic engagement component?
• Can you encourage your team and/or club to take a service trip?
• Can you invite a few friends to join you for a study break with tangible impact?

Local Sites that Need our Help:

• Meals on Wheels Forest Grove: Less than .2 miles from FG campus. .
• Taste and See Local: Less than .2 miles from FG campus. .
• Centro Cultural Mercado: 2.6 miles from FG campus + 3.9 miles from Hillsboro campus, accessible by car and #57 bus. .

Please contact the MCCE at mcce@pacificu.edu if you would like our support coordinating a group trip, know of other partners who should be on this list, or have additional ideas for how the Boxer family can help.

And if you or your loved ones are currently impacted by SNAP benefit loss, please know that these same local resources are open and available for you to you (find all Oregon Food Bank locations ), as well as the Boxer Food Share (FG Campus) and Hillsboro Food Pantry (Hillsboro Campus). To connect with additional Pacific support, please us the . 

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