Councilor asks what if $300,000 went to food bank instead of Occupy Eugene

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(Chris McKee, KMTR-TV)

Reported by: Chris McKee

Email: chrismckee@kmtr.com

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Published: 12/17/2011 7:32 pm

Updated: 12/17/2011 7:38 pm

EUGENE, Ore. (KMTR) -- As Occupy Eugene resettles in Eugene’s Washington-Jefferson Park through mid-January, some are wondering about its increasing cost and what the money would do if it were spent to help another cause.

So far, the city of Eugene has spent at least $115,000 in extra police services related to patrolling the Occupy Eugene protest. Wednesday, December 14^th, 2011, Eugene City Council approved the expenditure of at least $300,000 more for police and transitional services when the camp likely comes to a close on January 11^th, 2011.

Several city councilors voted against the cost, including Pat Farr. In a blog post Friday, December 17^th, 2011, Farr wrote about how $300,000 could have helped Food for Lane County. Farr used to be the director of the non-profit food bank. (Read the blog post at the following link: http://www.forumlane.org/?p=1213.)

NewsSource 16 contacted Food for Lane County about the idea. It says $300,000 could pay for 900,000 meals.

In the 2010-2011 fiscal year, Food For Lane County served about 16,400 meals a day. The organization says large donations in the 100-thousand dollar range don’t come often and it doesn’t expect them regularly.

“There are other agencies and other needs in the community and we support them, we have a very good working partnership with the other non-profits in this area and we all work together to try and solve problems for people,” says Dawn Marie Woodward, a spokeswoman for Food for Lane County.

Food for Lane County says food pantry requests for supplies are up by about 5% in this most recent fiscal year. Right now, it’s serving about 150,000 meals per week.

In terms of food donations, Food For Lane County is coming off of a very successful Letter Carriers Food Drive, driven by local postal service employees with donations from the Lane County community.

During the drive, the FFLC collected nearly 164,000 pounds of food, enough for about a week of food donations, representing only about 3% of FFLC’s yearly meal delivers.

The good news is that what was collected has a long shelf life.

“Right now our food boxes at the pantry level, they consist about 50% perishable items and about 50 percent shelf stable, ideally that should be about 80 percent shelf stable and 20 percent perishable so this really helps us increase that balance,” says Woodward.

Food For Lane County says it is looking for protein packed food donations the most these days including items like canned meats, stews, tomatoes and beans, also peanut butter, boxed mac-and-cheese, pasta, rice and cereal.

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Eugene, FOOD for Lane County, occupy eugene, Pat Farr

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The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of NewsSource 16

ntk0716 - 12/19/2011 9:08 AM

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This whole thing has become a freakin joke!!! What I don't understand is if people protested at Planned Parenthood (just an example), they would ALL be arrested. Why is this protest any different than any other protest??? Why on EARTH are we 'Babying' them?!? They are wasting more money than they are saving. They are an eye-sore in the community (it's no longer a PARK), they clearly don't have lives and are now doing the opposite of what they say their purpose is! To the ones that voted that the 'camp' stays, you should he ashamed of yourselves and you should be the ones paying for all this non-sense! Why should us taxpayers, that are working hard for our dollars, have to pay for this crap?!? Especially when our own schools are at 4 day weeks because they don't have enough money to be open for 5 days straight!!! There are so many good causes that need money yet we are wasting it on those low-life's (that won't see this stuff anyway because they apparently can't afford technology that will allow them TO see it!). Those that want to stay down there should be the ones that pay for thousands upon thousands of dollars that are going to it.

algoressister - 12/19/2011 4:13 AM

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Occupy Eugene are squatters! And the state and local taxpayers are paying their outrageous bills! NOT the 1%, they are railing against... US the 99% get the bill for their stupid antics!

Dentfixxer - 12/18/2011 1:21 PM

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I am all for money being spent to help those in need as long as that money goes to licensed, accredited, respectable, qualified local service providers. I would like to see a stop to money being spent on Occupy Eugene. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Un-Occupy-Eugene/220261108045728

hejo500 - 12/17/2011 11:29 PM

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Occupy needs a leader and clear voice. I haven't participated because of this. It is clear that the strategy of the 1% is just wait it out and eventually the locals will get sick of them and in the end nothing will have changed but peoples opinions about protesters. These people are a representation of all of us, even if we don't all see it that way. They don't want free meals, they want actual change. This wait it out strategy will likely come back to haunt them because peoples anger and despair is not going to go away. If you just ignore the disenfranchised and continue to stoke the fire, pitting poor against other poor people, (none of us know anybody of an substantial wealth) eventually you will cause a spark that will turn into a war. It is all about the wealth and people do not yet seem to understand that things will have to change or this country will go down due to it's own disability to actually address the problem. I think a lot of Obama supporters are now beginning to realize that we were duped when we heard the word "change". But the alternative is even worse. But sadly not by much. What happens when you back a starving wild animal into a corner? Eventually enough of us will be in that corner with an imminent threat to our own ways of life and we will come together and hold those accountable just that. There is already a war going on, just read them comments of any news article on yahoo. Go ahead and throw your opinion out there and see what happens. A lot of this goes back to that key moment after 9/11 when we were all looking for leadership and were more than willing to come together and figure this thing out. But radical leadership with scare tactics told us to keep on shopping, don't change ANYTHING. This was a key mistake, and now we are paying for it. We are coming apart at the seams fighting each other, and it is really just sad. One day just like other countries do, we will hold our government accountable and rebuild it.

dkendraf - 12/17/2011 11:27 PM

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@Djimba: the Food Bank and the homeless were already on people's minds before the protesters. The Postal Food Drive has been happening since some time in (or even before) the mid-1990s. The homeless are and have been on the radars of most Eugenians and the council members for years, but most especially since Thomas Egan literally froze to death a couple years back; again, before the Occupy protesters ever existed.

Djimba - 12/17/2011 11:00 PM

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Except that the foodbank and the homeless wouldn't even be on thier radar without the protesters.

dkendraf - 12/17/2011 10:43 PM

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My questions to the Occupy Eugene folks: Are you working? If not, are you looking for work? If you're not looking for work, are you creating jobs wherein you can alleviate the suffering? If you aren't doing at least one of the above, you're just complaining and adding to the problem by demanding that my taxes pay for your living expenses. Would you like to pay for my expenses? To those who opposed the additional funds being spent for these do-nothings in the tents, I applaud you. For those who agreed to let them stay, YOU pay for them out of your own pockets; leave my tax money alone.

Workin 4 U - 12/17/2011 10:40 PM

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So what was the point of your story you started to make an excellent point about the waste of time and money this Occupy Eugene is causing, then you lost focus. Yes it is ashame for the 300,000 dollars that should of been spent to help reduce the gang violence, maybe even get a kid or 2 out of a gang, you never know. Or the money could have bought more meals like the artilce said. Or we could have helped some one with an addiction that actually wanted help. Then there are the many pot holes that could of been filled in, which is what the money was supposed to be used for. In stead it is being taken away from several program to babysit a bunch of degenerates. I really wish that the Occupy Eugene would realize that the reason some of the taxes we have to pay are because of people like themselves. I would bet at least 90% of those people get assistance from the government. They are the real problem. Here is an idea get out and vote, donate your time and money to the cause that your supporting or even better run for office and make changes. But don't just take over a park and sit there and make it tough on everybody else and waste the money of those that are working and wasting tax dollars.

rgl1345 - 12/17/2011 8:10 PM

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The clowns on the board who voted for these POS to stay, should be shot and run out of town.

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