A combined food drive and Oregon Senate town hall set for Medford on Saturday - Ashland News

State Sen. Jeff Golden to speak on local response to federal activity; food bank staff to share their experiences as demand increases; attendees to express their ideas

By Sydney Seymour, Ashland.news

State Senator Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, will hold a combined food drive and Oregon Senate Town Hall at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, in the large room of the Medford Library. This first-of-its-kind event for Sen. Golden’s office is part of local response to the interruption of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the federal government shutdown.

Local food bank staff — like those from nonprofit ACCESS — will share their experiences with demand increase during Saturday’s town hall. Sen. Golden will lead a conversation on long-term response to recent federal activity and share focuses of the upcoming 2026 legislative session.

Sen. Jeff Golden answers a question at a town hall meeting in Ashland in January 2024. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini

“I want to hear what people want us to be doing,” Sen. Golden said to Ashland.news over the phone.

Nearly 50,000 people in Jackson County receive SNAP benefits, according to ACCESS Marketing and Communications Manager Gracie Perry. ACCESS provides food to over 30 emergency food pantries throughout Jackson County, seeing about 25,000 people a year.

The event asks attendees to consider bringing a bag or two of nutritious, non-perishable food. The majority of food collected will go to ACCESS to be distributed to food pantries throughout Jackson County while the rest will be given to Ashland Community Food Bank.

An increase in demand, and hopefully generosity

On Oct. 28, the West Medford ACCESS food pantry saw 238 households — marking nearly double the number of households served on an average week and the second highest number served in the pantry’s history, Perry shared in a phone call to Ashland.news.

The deets
State Senate town hall/food drive, 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, Medford Library large room

As individuals anticipate a disruption or unreliability of SNAP, some stocked up against the possibility of less access to food, as Sen. Golden explained the demand increase.

While SNAP benefits may be partially restored before Saturday, Sen. Golden said, “that doesn’t make me feel secure about what’s coming. The SNAP interruptions pushed things over the cliff, but the food banks have been really challenged for quite a while now.”

Experiencing a 27% increase in pantry visits in the last year, Perry said, “Any help we can get to help stock our food pantries is needed. We’re really encouraged by the support we’ve seen coming from the community.”

The Ashland Community Food Bank serves families living in Ashland, Talent and surrounding rural areas. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini

The Ashland Community Food Bank expects a 100% demand in the new year — as reported earlier by Ashland.news — similar to what they experienced in the spring of 2023 when SNAP benefits were reduced and COVID-19 protection programs such as eviction protection ended.

Sen. Golden calls for attendees to be extra generous. “We’re on the edge of a period where we have to take care of each other better than we ever have before and have our neighbors’ backs,” he said, “because this federal administration shows no concern for the future of our most vulnerable folks.”

Email Ashland.news reporter Sydney Seymour at sydneyseymourr@gmail.com