Rotary First Harvest of Oregon
After she saw bananas being thrown away in a major Klamath Falls grocery, a Klamath County Rotarian sought more information about food utilization, recovery and salvage. During this quest, she discovered Rotary First Harvest in Seattle. She and her club soon learned that Oregon is the most “food insecure” state in the nation. Assisted and encouraged by David Bobanick, Executive Director of Rotary First Harvest, the Klamath County Rotary Club established Rotary First Harvest of Oregon.

Rotarians, the public and private business sectors, the community-at-large, and even work crews from the Klamath County jail are making RFHO happen. In their first few months of operation, they have purchased a 40’ refrigerated container to store produce for the Klamath-Lake Counties Food Bank and established a trucking network to bring needed produce from remote locations.

They have coordinated with Klamath County Master Gardeners and the Oregon State University Extension Office to spray their apple and plum orchard for a viable harvest and to quadruple their demonstration (now production) garden to benefit the food bank and purchased a tool and storage shed for the garden. A greenhouse is planned. In collaboration with the Oregon Food Bank, they have also begun a dialogue with five of the 65 clubs in their district to encourage them to join the Rotary First Harvest effort in order to multiply its potential impact. Corporate and foundation support is being sought.

Click here to read an article about the project that appeared in the Herald and News, Klamath Falls, Oregon.