Read about the current state of poverty and food security in Oregon through the Herald and News

Hunger rates plummeted in Oregon in the years leading up to the pandemic, but then COVID-19 hit and during the following two years, the number of Oregonians struggling to put food on the table rose, a recently released Oregon State University study found.
People lost their jobs and their sources of income shrank, creating thousands more malnourished Oregonians.
In 2023, nearly 13% of state residents — about 530,000 individuals — suffered from “food insecurity” in Oregon, according to a just-released Oregon State University analysis that looks at people’s inability to get enough food on the table in a predictable manner. That rate is lower than in the years following the Great Recession, but about two points higher than 2020, marking an increase of about 65,000 more people facing food insecurity during 2021 to 2023.