A local event that helps people stock their pantries with locally grown food for the cold season is right around the corner. The Central Oregon Fill Your Pantry event takes place Nov. 7, with the window to pre-order goods set for Oct. 18-28.
For the second year in a row, the event also helps locals get more food into the hands of low-income people and those who receive benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. That program saw some 70,000 fewer participants in Oregon in 2026 than it did at the same time in 2025, signaling rising food insecurity in the state.
In addition to buying local pantry staples by ordering ahead or purchasing on the day of the event, people can donate to the Fill All Pantries fundraiser, in which organizers hope to raise $75,000 to go toward three special programs. Organized by Central Oregon Fill Your Pantry, High Desert Food & Farm Alliance and the Bend Farmers Market, Fill All Pantries aims to fill the widening gap for both those with SNAP benefits, and those who have recently lost those benefits due to cuts in President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Under that 2025 bill, recipients have been required to re-apply for benefits, and in some cases meet new work requirements to continue receiving benefits. The groups started the Fill All Pantries event following the bill’s passage last year, to great success.
“For Fill All Pantries, we were aiming to raise 15,000,” organizer Megan Kellner Rode told the Source about the 2025 event. “And then I think we ended up raising around $90,000, which was incredible.”
This year, with a goal of $75,000, the first $15,000 raised goes toward a free food giveaway taking place at the Nov. 7 event, offering free veggies, meat and bread to anyone in need. The next $10,000 from the fundraiser goes toward the Bend Farmers Market’s Protein Perks program, which “doubles up” SNAP recipients’ benefits to purchase protein such as fish, eggs, meat and some cheeses. The next $50,000 raised goes toward the HDFFA’s VeggieRX program, a prescription produce program arranged through referrals from health care providers.
The Fill Your Pantry event includes bulk items from 35 vendors, including potatoes, onions, leeks, beets, winter squash, garlic, honey, flour, apples, pears, dried beans, krauts and baked goods, all in large quantities. Pre-ordering is not required but is available starting Oct. 18 at centraloregonfillyourpantry.com/pre-order.
Central Oregon Fill Your Pantry
Sat., Nov. 7, 11am-3pm
Deschutes County Fairgrounds – OSU Extension parking lot
centraloregonfillyourpantry.com
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