The Medford Food Project was started in 2011 by a small group of residents from Medford, Jacksonville and Central Point who wanted make it easy for people to donate food to local food banks. They realized that many of their neighbors wanted to help fight hunger in their community, but for one reason or another, never get around to it. So they adopted a simple, door-to-door food collection system to enable people to pitch in.
They had three goals:
- To provide a regular supply of food to hungry neighbors
- To create new neighborhood connections and strengthen the community
- To serve as a model for other communities
Armed with brochures that proclaimed, “You want to help, We want to make it easy!,” MFP volunteers canvassed their neighborhoods, knocking on doors and inviting neighbors to participate. Whenever people said “Yes,” the volunteers suggested that they buy just one extra nonperishable food item each week, and store it at home. The volunteers promised to stop by the donors’ homes every two months, pick the food up, and take it directly to the food bank.
The MFP’s first collection was Feb. 15, 2011. Some 75 volunteers picked up green bags from nearly 800 families in Jacksonville, Central Point, and Medford.…and delivered 8,200 lbs. of food.
Today, there are 180 Neighborhood Coordinators picking up food from about 3,000 households, and the MFP is the largest volunteer organization in Jackson County. Each month, they collect about 30,000 lbs of food. By the end of 2018, the MFP had collected more than 1.2 million lbs.—the equivalent of more than 1,000,000 meals—one bag at a time!
It’s an amazing success story…but there’s still plenty of need in our area, and plenty of room for the MFP to grow. So join us! Don’t wait for a neighbor to knock on your door. Get in touch and let us know you want to share food. We’ll bring you a green bag, and get you started right away!
The Medford Food Project was started in 2011 by a small group of residents from Medford, Jacksonville and Central Point who wanted make it easy for people to donate food to local food banks. They realized that many of their neighbors wanted to help fight hunger in their community, but for one reason or another, never get around to it. So they adopted a simple, door-to-door food collection system to enable people to pitch in.
They had three goals:
- To provide a regular supply of food to hungry neighbors
- To create new neighborhood connections and strengthen the community
- To serve as a model for other communities
Armed with brochures that proclaimed, “You want to help, We want to make it easy!,” MFP volunteers canvassed their neighborhoods, knocking on doors and inviting neighbors to participate. Whenever people said “Yes,” the volunteers suggested that they buy just one extra nonperishable food item each week, and store it at home. The volunteers promised to stop by the donors’ homes every two months, pick the food up, and take it directly to the food bank.
The MFP’s first collection was Feb. 15, 2011. Some 75 volunteers picked up green bags from nearly 800 families in Jacksonville, Central Point, and Medford.…and delivered 8,200 lbs. of food.
Today, there are 180 Neighborhood Coordinators picking up food from about 3,000 households, and the MFP is the largest volunteer organization in Jackson County. Each month, they collect about 30,000 lbs of food. By the end of 2018, the MFP had collected more than 1.2 million lbs.—the equivalent of more than 1,000,000 meals—one bag at a time!
It’s an amazing success story…but there’s still plenty of need in our area, and plenty of room for the MFP to grow. So join us! Don’t wait for a neighbor to knock on your door. Get in touch and let us know you want to share food. We’ll bring you a green bag, and get you started right away!