Food bank contract ends

But that partnership ended Wednesday when OFB’s Board of Directors voted to terminate its contract with MCCAC.

The regional food bank will receive a termination letter on Nov. 1 and then have 10 days to appeal.

After a regularly scheduled monitoring visit in the spring and then follow up visits, it was determined MCCAC was out of compliance with best practices and standards adopted by the Oregon Food Bank Network sent down by the USDA, Feeding America and Department of Human Services.

“We have worked with them [MCCAC] diligently for quite a few months to try to get them up to the standards they need to meet and that’s not happened,” OFB Community Food Systems Manager Sharon Thornberry said.

While MCCAC Executive Director Jim Slusher said he was able to correct the majority of OFB’s requests, like putting a metal floor in the freezer, the biggest concern was MCCAC’s inventory system and how much food was being ordered.

He admitted some of MCCAC’s monthly USDA reports were not accurate because of new staff hired in the last nine months.

According to its Website, MCCAC serves over 1,000 households and 3,150 individuals.

Now, that task is completely in the hands of the Oregon Food Bank. Instead of placing orders with MCCAC, agencies will get their food straight from OFB.

“There will be no lapse in food supply,” Thornberry said.

“We will deliver to this community and to all of the partner agencies.

“That’s the big thing. There’s not going to be any disruption in food supply. We’ll be getting it to the agencies out here, to all of them.”

Thornberry noted in more than 30 years, OFB has had to break off ties with a regional food bank only once before.

“This is not something we do lightly,” she said. “We work very hard to make sure our regional food banks are successful before we decide this is the option we have to undertake.”

While OFB will continue to serve Wasco, Sherman and Hood River counties on an interim basis, it would like to find a permanent regional food bank to replace MCCAC.

“Ultimately, we know that the people in the community know their community the best,” OFB Marketing and Communications Associate Myrna Jensen said.

“We don’t want to be in control of the region. We want somebody else to do that and to take charge of the distribution of this community because you guys live here and you know exactly what your community needs and how they can be best served. It’s our hope that we can pass that off.”