By Nikki Jardin

Many of us are allowed to celebrate the bounty of foods that Portland has to offer. We fill our carts with fresh, organic produce and locally raised meats. We browse stalls at the farmer’s market and regularly dine at the restaurant tables of our creative and prolific Portland chefs. But for a number of our community, these perks are not available. Unfortunately, many of Portland’s population are experiencing food poverty and are not getting enough to eat on a daily basis. The demographic is wide-ranging and non-discriminatory and many excellent local non-profits work tirelessly to provide resources in order to get people fed.
Last month, on September 16th, a new meal site opened up in the basement of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) that specifically addresses the issue of hunger among our LGBTQI elders. A cooperative effort among a dozen agencies and resource providers resulted in the new Loaves and Fishes dining program on Wednesday evenings. This site offers a nutritious meal at low or no-cost to seniors over the age of 60. At the grand opening, a dozen seniors, and an equal number of volunteers were on hand. Organizers are looking to get the word out in order to bolster the number of seniors who attend over the following weeks.
Organizer Dale Jackson was instrumental in gathering community resources to launch the new Loaves and Fishes site, having seen a need for this type of service when he worked as a case manager for Friendly House. During remarks at the grand opening last month, he acknowledged that while there are a number of meal sites in Portland that address hunger among the elderly, it was becoming increasingly necessary to design a site specifically for the LGBTIQ community…

“As a case manager, I worked with sexual minority elders…some used the local Loaves and Fishes meal site, and others could not, though they had tried. How can an elder, in their sixties, seventies or eighties discount the judgment, criticism and disdain they grew up with their entire lives?”

The non-profit Loaves and Fishes, and their partnership with Meals-on-Wheels, offers over 3600 meals to seniors every week at 36 meal sites in the Portland area. When Jackson approached them about creating a new site for the LGBTQI community, they were more than willing. Mary Langman, a Loaves and Fishes Center Manager, talks about the importance of a community-based meal site.

“My first thought, when Dale approached me, was that this made sense. Each center needs to have that feeling of ownership among the community it serves and the pride in calling it their own. I see this as sign of our seniors voicing what they need,” Langman recalled.

Dale Jackson also wants people to understand that in servicing this community, we are honoring those who have come before. In speaking to the elders gathered at the church he said,

“Our elders today, regardless of how they lived their lives, were on the vanguard of social change for our community. It is time to honor and remember and give to our elders, to you, so that you can live out your twilight years with dignity, respect and with the knowledge that you are valued.”

The meal site operates every Wednesday evening at the MCC, located at 24th and Broadway in Northeast Portland. Seniors over the age of 60 are welcome and are asked to pay a donation of $2.75 to cover the cost of the meal. Organizers are quick to point out that no one will ever be turned away for lack of funds and that they are hoping to see an increase in the number of meals they serve. For more information, please email Food Fairies at
mccpdxfood@gmail.com