THE GORGE — Multiple agencies are collaborating on the 2025 Columbia Gorge Food Security Assessment survey and are seeking responses through July 18. Everyone in the Gorge — Oregon or Washington — can participate by visiting beav.es/GorgeFoodSurvey.
Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Service, Columbia Gorge Food Bank, The Next Door, Inc., Gorge Grown Food Network, Columbia Gorge Health Council, Bridges to Health, PacificSource Community Solutions, and Oregon Department of Human Services are working together on the project.
Lauren Kraemer, OSU Extension Service associate professor of practice, said the survey was last conducted in 2015. “A decade has gone by, and many things have changed in our community,” she said. “It is time to get new data that tells our stories, uplifts community voices, and shapes future initiatives.”
The 2015 food security assessment found that one in three households worried about running out of food, and one in five did. The data was used in grants that secured more than $25 million for community programs.
Early results from the 2025 survey are showing significant increases to local food insecurity with roughly one in two households indicating they worry about running out of food and one in two actually running out of food.
“Because of the 2015 survey, the regional Food Security Coalition formed (gorgegrown.com/foodsecurity/), a veggie prescription program (VeggieRx) expanded in our area, and our partners expanded nutrition education programs, just to name a few accomplishments,” Kraemer said.
“We would like to hear from everyone, even if you identify as food-secure,” she added. The survey responses are not connected to names, and all questions — especially demographic questions — are optional.
By taking the survey, participants help shape future programs and help bring more resources to the Gorge.
Twenty people who fill out the survey will be chosen at random to receive a $50 gift card.
As results come in, partners hope to share findings with the community. For more information, visit beav.es/GorgeFoodSurveyResults.
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