Oregon Legislature Fails to Address Oregon's Rising Rates of Hunger

Oregon Food Bank’s mission is to eliminate hunger and its root causes. Here are some realities our state is facing right now:

• Hunger is on the rise in Oregon. The USDA reports that one-third more people experience hunger now than before the pandemic, and our network saw a 31% increase in visits last year. The persistently high cost of food and housing — plus the expiration of pandemic-era assistance — are among the primary causes of this increase.

• Oregonians who are immigrants face increased fear because of a federal administration intent on sowing chaos and cruelty in our communities.

• Uncertainty about trade policy from this administration drove a decrease in the amount of projected resources Oregon has to invest in our communities.

• The federal budget bill passed by Congress and signed by the president — after Oregon’s Legislative Session concluded — will deepen hunger in Oregon, taking away food and health care from millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Oregonians.

In the face of these realities, Oregon’s legislature fell short of meeting this moment. Below is a recap of Oregon Food Bank’s legislative priorities and what the Legislature decided to do. Hunger is a policy choice. And despite a few bright spots, Oregon’s legislative leaders chose to not pass critical funding and bills that would have provided both short and long-term relief to Oregonians facing hunger. We thank our countless partners across the state for leading these efforts.

Food for All Oregonians

• What we asked for: Passage of the Food for All Oregonians Bill (SB 611)
• What the Legislature did: Did not pass Food for All Oregonians
• In 2025, thousands of Oregonians called, emailed and wrote letters to lawmakers urging passage of SB 611. More than 200 organizations and businesses endorsed the bill. SB 611 secured bipartisan support and nearly 500 supportive testimonies. Despite this outpouring of advocacy, legislative leaders chose not to pass it. While we are heartbroken, we are not giving up — we’ll build on the growing momentum we have started. Read more in the FFAO End of Session Statement.

School Meals for All

• What we asked for: Pass the School Meals for All Bill (HB 3435)
• What the Legislature did: Did not pass School Meals for All
• School Meals for All — which would make Oregon the 10th state to ensure all K-12 students have free access to breakfast and lunch — had overwhelming bipartisan support and passed unanimously through the House Education Committee. Research consistently shows that low-income kids do better in school when there’s no stigma associated with school meals. While New York was successful in enacting similar legislation this year, Oregon did not reach the finish line because the Joint Ways & Means Committee declined to act — despite passing funding levels sufficient to cover the cost of meals. We will continue to advocate for this policy to become law.

Additional Anti-Hunger Priorities

Oregon Hunger Response Fund

• What we asked for: $11.4M — $6.4 million (current funding) + one-time $5 million

• What the Legislature did: $6.4 million

• This keeps service levels from the last biennium but increased need means the same funding will be spread among a growing number of people seeking food at over 1,200 local partner agencies that are part of the Oregon Food Bank Network across the region.

Double Up Food Bucks

• What we asked for: Maintain $4.3 million (current funding)

• What the Legislature did: $4.34 million

• Double Up Food Bucks doubles the purchasing power of SNAP at many farmers markets, CSAs and a growing number of grocery stores in Oregon.

Crop Donation Tax Credit

• What we asked for: Extend the credit and increase from 15% to 25%

• What the Legislature did: Extended the credit through 2032 and increased to 25%

• This change will reduce barriers for more farmers to donate crops to people facing food insecurity.

Housing

• What we asked for: Continued robust investments in emergency rental assistance, houselessness prevention services, and support for Oregon’s shelter programs.
• What the Legislature did: Made devastating cuts across the board, including a 75% cut to emergency rental assistance, houselessness prevention and rehousing services. Statewide shelter programs were fully funded.
• These are the deepest cuts to housing services in decades — over 20,000 fewer households will get help staying in their homes over the next biennium. The impact will be felt through the next two years in the form of higher rates of evictions, housing insecurity and houselessness.

Immigrant Rights

Universal Representation

• What we asked for: $15 million
• What the Legislature did: $15 million (one-time funding, HB 5006)
• This will help Oregon families stay together and prevent them from navigating complex legal proceedings alone.

Farmworker Disaster Relief

• What we asked for: $10 million to establish and implement (HB 3193)
• What the Legislature did: $2 million (one-time funding, HB 5006). Did not establish the program.
• Farmworker Disaster Relief protects the health and safety of the people who grow and harvest the foods that Oregonians depend on.

Indigenous Language Justice

• What we asked for: $1.5 million (HB 2976)
• What the Legislature did: $750,000 (one-time funding, HB 5006)
• This investment will help break down language barriers that thousands of Oregonians face when their health, freedom or family are on the line.

Home Fund

• What we asked for: $14 million
• What the Legislature did: $4.5 million
• The Home Fund has provided emergency rent assistance for nearly 8,000 immigrant and refugee families across 32 counties in Oregon.

MORE ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HUNGER AND IMMIGRANT RIGHTS

Child Care

What we asked for: Robust funding for Employment Related Day Care (ERDC), Preschool Promise and the Early Childhood Equity Fund

What the Legislature did: Made devastating $45 million cuts across the board for programs operated by the Department of Early Learning and Care — with no new investments in these critical programs.

MORE ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HUNGER AND CHILD CARE

Economic & Worker Justice

• What we asked for: An increase of the Oregon Earned Income Credit (EIC), including an expansion of the Tax Infrastructure Grant (TIG).
• What the Legislature did: Did not expand the Oregon EIC but reauthorized it at current levels for six years. Oregon’s TIG program suffered a $3.9 million cut.
• Oregon’s TIG program connects working families with valuable tax credits. These cuts could close free tax assistance sites, leading to fewer low-income families claiming the federal earned income tax credit, Oregon’s EIC, the federal Child Tax Credit and the Oregon Kids Credit.

MORE ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HUNGER AND ECONOMIC SECURITY

Re-imagining Community Safety

• What we asked for: $12 million for the Justice Reinvestment Equity Program (JREP)
• What the Legislature did: Did not fund JREP.
• This program prevents incarceration and supports communities historically over-incarcerated or reentering society. Without it, the state misses an opportunity to invest in stability and safety — and could have saved the state money by making Oregon safer.

MORE ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HUNGER AND COMMUNITY SAFETY

Healthy People, Healthy Environment

• What we asked for: $10 million for Resilience Hubs & Networks (HB 3170)
• What the Legislature did: Did not fund Resilience Hubs & Networks
• This program has strengthened Oregon’s ability to prepare for, provide relief from and recover from worsening climate disasters. Demand for resilience resources remains high. Partners will advocate for $5 million from the Emergency Board during the 2025-26 Interim.

MORE ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HUNGER AND CLIMATE

Curious why Oregon Food Bank prioritized these policies?

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Looking Ahead

Oregonians are facing significant challenges — rising hunger rates, unprecedented attacks on immigrant communities and federal cuts that will take away food and health care from far too many. Hunger is a policy choice.

While our network of 1,200 partner agencies will always be here for Oregonians seeking food assistance, it is simply not possible to food bank our way out of disastrous policy choices. We look forward to conversations with Oregon’s leaders about how we can choose better policies so we can address these challenges together.

Onward.

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