Letter Carriers Drive to Stamp Out Hunger Saturday

Local letter carriers and postal service employees in Toledo, Lincoln City and Newport will participate again this year in the annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive, now in its 20th year. On Saturday, May 12th letter carriers will collect nonperishable food donations along their routes for delivery to the Newport, Toledo, and Lincoln City Food Pantries. It is the largest one-day food drive in the nation. Letter carriers ask you to place a food donation by your mailbox Saturday before your mail is delivered. Donations will also be accepted in the lobby of your local post office. In 2011, letter carriers collected more than 70.2 million pounds of food nationally. Toledo letter carrier Matt Gallo said Toledo “has truly backed our efforts enthusiastically. We have consistently brought in nearly four thousand pounds of food for about the last ten years.” Gallo said businesses that have helped in the effort include J.C. Thriftway Market, Dairy Queen, Georgia-Pacific, Newport Rental and many others. Lincoln County postal carriers’ efforts in 2011 yielded approximately 20,000 pounds of food. All donations remain local.

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SNAP Incentive Program Coming to Toledo, Lincoln City

The Lincoln City Farmer’s Market has become the latest to accept federal food benefits. Adults and families enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) can use their Oregon Trail card at the Lincoln City Farmer’s Market to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, plant starts, meat, dairy and bread. Through Ten Rivers Food Web’s “That’s My Farmer” SNAP Incentive Program, people who spend at least $6 of their SNAP benefits at the market get an extra $6 in market tokens redeemable for fresh foods.

In Lincoln County, more than nine thousand people rely on SNAP monthly, bringing in an estimated $15 million into the local economy each year. 33% of Lincoln County children are on SNAP, far outpacing the national average. Ten Rivers Food Web spokeswoman Chloe Rico said the Newport Farmer’s Market saw a 102% growth in SNAP transactions in 2011 from 2010 after the program was started there. SNAP clients spent almost $5 thousand of their benefits on local food in Newport last year. The Toledo Street Market will also participate in the program this year. For more information call 541-602-7278, or email.

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Child Care Affordability Major Concern in County

New information from the Child Care Research Partnership (CCRP) shows that child care is difficult to afford for many Lincoln County residents, and that there is also a shortage of trained child care workers. The report shows the average annual cost of toddler care in Lincoln County is $6,471. That is almost as expensive as the average annual cost of college tuition in the state. The annual income of a minimum wage worker in the state is $17,472, meaning child care costs, on average, 37% of annual income. The report said, “Affordability emerges as the major issue. In most of the state, the price of child care exceeds public college tuition. This is especially an issue for families in the lowest income group who spend 29% of their family income on child care.” The CCRP also notes the availability of infant and toddler care, and care for children with special needs is an major issue. “Problems with availability of care are greatest in rural counties. Low wages and an absence of benefits result in a crisis-level shortage of persons willing to work in the child care industry. Low levels of training and high staff turnover threaten the quality of care available,” it said. Census figures show just almost half of children under age 13 need some form of non-parental care while parents work.

According to information from Oregon State University, the county did not have a licensed child care center that accepted infants and toddlers until a center was opened in Toledo in 2009. Infant and toddler care remains a critical need in the Newport area, as well as care during non-traditional hours, for parents working in tourism and service-related jobs or doing shift work. The CCRP releases a new report every two years. The current report shows 777 slots in child care and education centers, and 267 slots in family child care. Oregon’s goal is to have 25 slots for every 100 children. Lincoln County currently has only 19.

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Volunteers Needed For Holiday Giving Programs

A semi-truck of fruits and vegetables need unloading at Lincoln County Food Share Friday between 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. The produce will be distributed to three local holiday giving programs: Salvation Army, Toledo Elks and South Lincoln Resources. Volunteers are needed at Food Share’s warehouse (535 NE 1st St. Newport) to help unload and distribute specific amounts to the delivery vehicles for each agency.
 Toledo Elks will need help in Toledo unloading their delivery into the Elks basement for distribution into Christmas boxes.
South Lincoln Resources will need vehicles capable of carrying 1,300 lbs. to Waldport for distribution in the Christmas baskets. People wishing to volunteer their help should email organizers.

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Recorder Society Presents Food Share Benefit Concerts


The Oregon Coast Recorder Society (OCRS) performs two concerts benefiting Lincoln County Food Share. The first one is Friday, December 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Newport (227 NE 12th St.), and will perform the same program Friday, January 6 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Peter the Fisherman Lutheran Church in Lincoln City (1226 SW 13th St.). Both concerts will feature music for the holidays, including Renaissance and Baroque Christmas music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Michael Praetorius and others, as well as “Shir Hanukah” by Veitch, and two movements from a Christmas concerto by Archangelo Corelli. The group will also play two pieces for clocks by Benjamin Britten and Ludwig von Beethoven, and a piece by Frances Blaker, written especially for OCRS recorders and string bass player Corinne Newbegin. There will also be an audience Christmas Carol sing-along. OCRS musicians play several sizes of recorder, plus violas da gamba, gemshorns, string bass, violin, and guitar. Donations of nonperishable food items, checks, or cash are accepted as admission. All proceeds go to Food Share. For more information, call 541-961-1228 or visit their website.

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