Oregon State University
EN-10: Community Partnerships

For more than 30 years, Linn Benton Food Share has been feeding Linn and Benton counties, because they are committed to the idea that no one goes hungry in the two-county area they serve. Linn Benton Food Share provides millions of pounds of food every year to our local community through a network of 68 non profit partners. These include food pantries, meal sites, gleaning groups and supplemental agencies. In order to efficiently move food to those in need, they work closely with local nonprofit groups throughout Linn and Benton counties.

OSU's partnership with the Linn Benton Food Share is multifaceted and is focused on the annual food drive in addition to regular service-learning projects. Every February, teams across the institution participate in raising funds and collecting nonperishable food donations for the month. In 2023, OSU contributed a total of 4,326 pounds of food and $151,856 during the month of February (collectively equating to 458,813 meals).

The partnership is focused on economic redistribution, social equity, and food waste prevention, thus touching upon all three major pillars of sustainability. The partnership has existed formally since 2006 and involves leadership from Linn Benton Food Share and clients in evaluation and assessment of the food drives and determining the most needed food items to collect and buy via donation. Learn more here: https://communications.oregonstate.edu/events/events-and-projects/osu-food-drive.

In addition to the food drives, OSU partners with the Linn Benton Food Share to advance service-learning projects and coursework for students focused on human services and/or food security. Human Development and Family Studies, Sociology, and Anthropology students all engage with Linn Benton Food Share throughout the year via service-learning projects and internship placements. Linn Benton Food Share is also a participant in Community Engagement & Leadership's day of service program (https://cel.oregonstate.edu/students/volunteer). Project needs are identified by Linn Benton Food Share and coordinated collaboratively between the Food Share's volunteer coordinator and OSU faculty and staff. OSU annually provides over 325 volunteers to the Linn Benton Food Share contributing more than 1,525 service hours.

Learn more about the Linn Benton Food Share here: https://communityservices.us/linn-benton-food-share.

SAGE garden is a 1-acre production garden that is a program of the Corvallis Environmental Center. The food grown at SAGE is donated to local food banks and soup kitchens–providing fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables to families in the community who cannot afford them. SAGE has donated over 10 tons of fresh produce over the last two years to those in need.

OSU provides regular volunteers to the SAGE garden weekly and each term to support the SAGE garden's mission to advance garden-based education and address community food security. Community volunteers are at the heart of SAGE. Each year, more than 800 people come to help SAGE grow and over half of those volunteers come from OSU. 2022-2023 annual estimates for OSU service contributions and engagement with SAGE garden include 320 volunteers and 1,280 service hours.

The OSU Community Engagement & Leadership unit, plus the Crop and Soil Science and Horticulture departments all regularly coordinate service-learning projects with the SAGE garden. SAGE Garden is a participant in Community Engagement & Leadership's day of service and Beavs Volunteer program (https://cel.oregonstate.edu/students/volunteer). SAGE utilizes organic farming principles to promote ecological well-being while also focusing on providing healthy, nutritious food to low income community members. The SAGE garden manager is involved in training the Community Engagement & Leadership student staff on how to best prepare student volunteers to authentically and respectfully engage with the organization. SAGE garden staff and clients provide regular assessment and evaluation information to OSU partners to drive each term's project design and delivery. OSU students frequently are able to engage in the local food system by helping to grow food at SAGE garden and packaging food for distribution at Linn Benton Food Share thereby allowing students to learn about the integrated network of nonprofits in our community that are working to create a more equitable food system. Learn more about SAGE garden here: https://www.corvallisenvironmentalcenter.org/sage.

OSU is one of the founding partners of the the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, a network of over 400 of organizations in Corvallis, Oregon. It was formed in 2007 to bring together businesses, non-profits, faith communities, educational institutions, and government entities in the Corvallis area to accelerate the creation of a sustainable community - one that values environmental quality, social equity, and economic vitality. Participation in the Coalition is open to local organizations that support its vision, mission, goals and guiding objectives. http://sustainablecorvallis.org/.

OSU's scope of involvement includes:
- Staffing various committees and action teams, including having the OSU Sustainability Officer (who is also one of the Coalition's founders and its Vice Chair) serve on the Coalition Steering Committee, Executive Committee and Energy Action Team.
- Leadership of several action teams is coordinated by OSU staff and leverages university resources through these channels. University resources include additional volunteer labor, academic connections, meeting space, and other contributions.
- Coalition's Water Action team projects for native plantings, riparian habitat restoration, and other water quality efforts are supported by over 200 student volunteers annually from the Sustainability Double Degree, Crop & Soil Science, and Community Engagement & Leadership's Day of Service program
- Coalition projects use the Corvallis campus as a living laboratory. Specifically, Energy Action Team, Water Action Team and Waste Reduction Action Team have catalyzed opportunities in this way.
- OSU Sustainability Office is the primary financial and logistical sponsor of the Coalition's annual sustainability Town Hall meetings, which are held on the Corvallis campus.
- Numerous internships have bridged between the Coalition, university and other community partners, adding value for community organizations and for OSU students.

Thanks to Emily Bowling with OSU Community Engagement & Leadership, who contributed to this credit.