Filling Empty Bellies
Donation protected
Founder Corri Bucks explanation of Filling Empty Bellies beginnings
"I started taking a few bag lunches downtown to places i noticed people who appeared hungry. I would roll down my window and hollar ARE YOU HUNGRY? and they would come right over , i started this a few days before Thanksgiving, 2014, the numbers climbed by the day. I soon figured out I needed to do this by a consistant schedule so these hungry souls could get a nutritious meal each day. This is such a gratifying act of kindness. We are now feeding up to 40 people 6 days a week( 240 meals a week!!!) The meals served are wholesome home cooked meals such as Spaghetti, Stroganoff, enchiladas, Beans and rice ect..... Also hot meals take sturdier packaging that costs a bit more than a lunch bag. DONATIONS is the only way to keep Filling these Empty Bellies !!! PLEASE VISIT MY FB PAGE FILLING EMPTY BELLIES!!!!!"
Fast forward 2021 and still going strong
Filling Empty Bellies
Overall Accomplishments (2014-2020)
✔ Facilitated 5 large Thanksgiving meals for those in need (2020 over 100 meals)
✔ Prepared and served over 50,000 meals to those suffering from hunger and homelessness
✔ Mentored 12 Astoria High School students for their senior projects
✔ Hosted 70 local high school students as volunteers
✔ Hosted 15 people in need of court-required community service hours
✔ Provided 40 children with back-to-school supplies and clothing.
✔ Supported 15 different pregnant homeless women with maternity clothing, advocacy, newborn gear and emotional support.
✔ Given out over 200 sleeping bags and 100 tents to those sleeping on the streets
✔ Supplied between 1,000-1 ,500 warm coats to those in need
✔ Involved over 500 local volunteers and community members over the past 6 years
✔ Facilitated 100 days of free laundry for those in need over the past 4 years
✔ Sponsored 15 free "Haircuts for the Homeless" events
✔ Arranged 25 memorial services for members of the homeless community
✔ Provided hundreds of pets with food and coats
✔ Provided over 5 ,000 pairs of socks to people living on the streets
✔ Acquired miscellaneous medical supplies for people living on the streets such as: colostomy bags, wheelchairs, a walker, antibiotic creams, hand sanitizers, and tampons/pads
✔ Provided move- in costs for l0 participants’ housing
✔ Thousands of hours of advocacy facilitating drug/alcohol treatment, housing, ID's, social security, social services, school enrollment, on-the-job-training, work-gear, bus passes, rides to appointments, emergency shelter and move-in necessities.
Filling Empty Bellies - 2020
Wow! 2020 was a challenging but amazing year for Filling Empty Bellies. Thank you so much for all of the support as we navigated our way through COVID lock-downs, social service shut-downs, new serving regulations, and a loss of much of our volunteer base. True to Filling Empty Bellies’ style, we persevered, by the end of 2020, not only had we successfully maintained our weekly meal program, but we had expanded our outreach, and our services, to a whole new level.
Some Highlights from 2020:
✔ A new Director! Osarch Orak took on the role as Executive Director. His lived experience, extensive experience in grass-roots outreach, ability to understand the complexities of houselessness/addiction/mental illness, and knowledge of our county’s resources has made him the perfect person to take over FEBs.
✔ Two holiday meals (Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve) in to-go form. We boxed and served 100 meals at each event and provided an outdoor coffee and pastry bar at 9th street.
✔ We purchased, wrapped, and delivered Christmas gifts to SIX children in need.
✔ We assisted SEVEN people with housing costs (rental assistance/move- in costs). FIVE were moving off the streets and into shelter, and TWO were moving out of unstable housing and into more sustainable shelter. Thanks to the generous donations of individuals, as well as some grants, FEB’ s has been able to develop a rental assistance program. We keep our process low-barrier, fast, and accessible so that we can help those most in need get into housing FIRST, while offering follow-up support for other needs after stable housing has been attained. This model has yielded 100% effective so far!
✔ We purchased two public hand-washing stations and placed them at People’s Park and 9th
Street so that our participants have the ability to stay clean.
✔ We offered opportunities to charge devices during lock-down with our portable charger.
✔ We partnered with Beacon Clubhouse, The Harbor, CBH, and the AWC on holiday events, mental health services, advocacy, and emergency needs.
OUR MAJOR GOAL for 2021 is to open a day-time drop-in center in Astoria. We have been working towards this goal since 2017. The need is great in our community; this is becoming more and more obvious. Our biggest hurdle is, and has been, securing a building. As always, leads on this are welcome.
"I started taking a few bag lunches downtown to places i noticed people who appeared hungry. I would roll down my window and hollar ARE YOU HUNGRY? and they would come right over , i started this a few days before Thanksgiving, 2014, the numbers climbed by the day. I soon figured out I needed to do this by a consistant schedule so these hungry souls could get a nutritious meal each day. This is such a gratifying act of kindness. We are now feeding up to 40 people 6 days a week( 240 meals a week!!!) The meals served are wholesome home cooked meals such as Spaghetti, Stroganoff, enchiladas, Beans and rice ect..... Also hot meals take sturdier packaging that costs a bit more than a lunch bag. DONATIONS is the only way to keep Filling these Empty Bellies !!! PLEASE VISIT MY FB PAGE FILLING EMPTY BELLIES!!!!!"
Fast forward 2021 and still going strong
Filling Empty Bellies
Overall Accomplishments (2014-2020)
✔ Facilitated 5 large Thanksgiving meals for those in need (2020 over 100 meals)
✔ Prepared and served over 50,000 meals to those suffering from hunger and homelessness
✔ Mentored 12 Astoria High School students for their senior projects
✔ Hosted 70 local high school students as volunteers
✔ Hosted 15 people in need of court-required community service hours
✔ Provided 40 children with back-to-school supplies and clothing.
✔ Supported 15 different pregnant homeless women with maternity clothing, advocacy, newborn gear and emotional support.
✔ Given out over 200 sleeping bags and 100 tents to those sleeping on the streets
✔ Supplied between 1,000-1 ,500 warm coats to those in need
✔ Involved over 500 local volunteers and community members over the past 6 years
✔ Facilitated 100 days of free laundry for those in need over the past 4 years
✔ Sponsored 15 free "Haircuts for the Homeless" events
✔ Arranged 25 memorial services for members of the homeless community
✔ Provided hundreds of pets with food and coats
✔ Provided over 5 ,000 pairs of socks to people living on the streets
✔ Acquired miscellaneous medical supplies for people living on the streets such as: colostomy bags, wheelchairs, a walker, antibiotic creams, hand sanitizers, and tampons/pads
✔ Provided move- in costs for l0 participants’ housing
✔ Thousands of hours of advocacy facilitating drug/alcohol treatment, housing, ID's, social security, social services, school enrollment, on-the-job-training, work-gear, bus passes, rides to appointments, emergency shelter and move-in necessities.
Filling Empty Bellies - 2020
Wow! 2020 was a challenging but amazing year for Filling Empty Bellies. Thank you so much for all of the support as we navigated our way through COVID lock-downs, social service shut-downs, new serving regulations, and a loss of much of our volunteer base. True to Filling Empty Bellies’ style, we persevered, by the end of 2020, not only had we successfully maintained our weekly meal program, but we had expanded our outreach, and our services, to a whole new level.
Some Highlights from 2020:
✔ A new Director! Osarch Orak took on the role as Executive Director. His lived experience, extensive experience in grass-roots outreach, ability to understand the complexities of houselessness/addiction/mental illness, and knowledge of our county’s resources has made him the perfect person to take over FEBs.
✔ Two holiday meals (Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve) in to-go form. We boxed and served 100 meals at each event and provided an outdoor coffee and pastry bar at 9th street.
✔ We purchased, wrapped, and delivered Christmas gifts to SIX children in need.
✔ We assisted SEVEN people with housing costs (rental assistance/move- in costs). FIVE were moving off the streets and into shelter, and TWO were moving out of unstable housing and into more sustainable shelter. Thanks to the generous donations of individuals, as well as some grants, FEB’ s has been able to develop a rental assistance program. We keep our process low-barrier, fast, and accessible so that we can help those most in need get into housing FIRST, while offering follow-up support for other needs after stable housing has been attained. This model has yielded 100% effective so far!
✔ We purchased two public hand-washing stations and placed them at People’s Park and 9th
Street so that our participants have the ability to stay clean.
✔ We offered opportunities to charge devices during lock-down with our portable charger.
✔ We partnered with Beacon Clubhouse, The Harbor, CBH, and the AWC on holiday events, mental health services, advocacy, and emergency needs.
OUR MAJOR GOAL for 2021 is to open a day-time drop-in center in Astoria. We have been working towards this goal since 2017. The need is great in our community; this is becoming more and more obvious. Our biggest hurdle is, and has been, securing a building. As always, leads on this are welcome.
Organizer
OZ OK
Organizer
Astoria, OR
