Here are the latest updates/requests from OFB:

Monthly reports -Now, more than ever, it's imperative to get your monthly reports into us as soon as possible. Kudos to those of you who have already done so! We've had requests from our leadership team for data that shows the quantifiable increase in service since this all began. This data will help us secure funding, food and other resources to share with you all as the demand continues to increase. Please be sure to get those entered by April 10!  

• Bonus, if you have specific stories or anecdotes about the increase you're seeing, please send them to me! Example - Mainspring provided food for 3,000 - not a typo - people yesterday in a span of 10 hours. Amazing! We don't expect that from everyone, but if you're seeing increases like this, please share.

Status update - Many of you used the status update form early on in our Covid journey to let us know what your plans were, and many of them were through the end of March. If you have not made any updates in the last five days, please use this form to provide another update. Please take a look as there's a place to request volunteer and other support.  Even if your hours or plans have not changed, we'd appreciate you completing the form again so we can ensure that what we're reporting to the public on Food Finder is accurate. (Again, if you've made an update recently, you're exempt from this request.) 

Social Distancing update from Oregon Health Authority - Food assistance sites are considered essential services under Governor Kate Brown's Stay Home Save Lives Executive Order No. 20-12. Please note: under this order, we (businesses and nonprofits) are required, under section 10, to designate an employee or officer to develop and enforce social distancing procedures consistent with guidance from the Oregon Health Authority.   

If you have not developed a system to ensure that people accessing food from your facility remain 6 feet apart at all times, and designated an individual to enforce that system, you are in violation of Order No. 20-12 and could be shut down under section 11 (by OHA). Please ensure the following is include in your plan:  

• Maintain at least a 6-foot distance from other people at all times.

• Wash your hands for at least 20+ seconds and dry with a single-use paper towel.

• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, not your hands, then throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands. 

• Do not touch your mouth or nose; if you realize you have done this, stop, remove gloves (if wearing), wash hands, and don new gloves (if wearing). Alternatively, apply alcohol hand sanitizer and wait for it to dry before resuming work. 

• Disinfect all surfaces and high touch areas frequently.  

If you have any questions about this or need support in developing a plan please contact your regional network developer. We are working on a toolkit to support these efforts, which should be available later next week.   

Small business & nonprofit resources - Beginning today, small businesses and 501(c)(3) nonprofits with fewer than 500 employees can begin applying for a new forgivable loan to help maintain operations during the COVID-19 crisis. Earlier this week, the U.S. Treasury Department published an information sheet on the new Paycheck Protection Program. This loan program, also known as the emergency SBA 7(a) loan program, was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which was signed into law last Friday. Nonprofits are encouraged to apply for emergency 7(a) loans as soon as possible. Although the deadline is June 30, the CARES Act only authorized a total of $349 billion in Payroll Protection Act loans, and many nonprofits and small businesses are interested in seeking these forgivable loans. See below for more info and resources.   

Thank you - again and again, and then sixteen more times - for the work you're doing. Please stay safe and well, we need you all now and on the other side of this! I'll leave you with a quote a donor enclosed with their gift this week. "Love is stronger than fear. Thank you for taking care of families in need."

Your Regional Network Team

• Multnomah & Clackamas Counties - contact Courtney (this email)
• Washington County - Jack Koran, jkoran@oregonfoodbank.org
• Free Food Markets - Rob Rutledge-Shryock - rrshryock@oregonfoodbank.org
• School Pantries - Ally Meyer, ameyer@oregonfoodbank.org