I was pleased to see the article in the Living section titled "Food insecurity is a year-yound Problem," (Feb. 3). Kudos to you for shining a light on this problem. 

We are all familiar with requests for food donations during the holiday season, but local pantries struggle to meet the needs of the food insecure all year long. In fact, the need is often greater in the summer months when kids are out of school and no long have access to school food programs.

I volunteer with the Portland Food Project, which is an all-volunteer effort to provide year-round support to our local pantries. Food donors are given a reusable grocery bag to fill.  Every other month, that bag is picked up by a Neighborhood Coordinator and an empty bag is left behind. Food is dropped off at a central location and shared with local area pantries. Last year we collected nearly 100,000 pounds of food, which we distributed to 20 local pantries.

We are always seeking new food donors and volunteers to serve as Neighborhood Coordinators (to pick up the food). If readers would like an easy way to help feed our food insecure neighbors year-round, please go to our website: www.portlandfoodproject.org to sign up and learn for more about how we attack the problem of food insecurity in our community.

Marcia Blasen, Southeast Portland

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