There they go again
Not to belabor the point about the Oregon Food Bank becoming a free-ranging left-wing activist group. But this story by the kids at the Merc reports on yet another instance of the organization's stepping way outside its mission in order to advance the views of the people running the place, on issues having precious little to do with hunger.
A handful of local advocacy and nonprofit groups are denouncing a recent budget increase for the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office to pay for an anticipated uptick in criminal prosecutions of drug crimes.
A letter signed by Safety and Justice Oregon, Portland for All, Next Up Action Fund, Unite Oregon, Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, and the Oregon Food Bank was sent to County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson on Thursday. It addresses a quiet move by DA-elect Nathan Vasquez to request roughly $900,000 in additional funds for the DA’s office, to cover staffing and related resources for prosecuting gun violence and drug crimes.
As reported in The Oregonian, the funding ask from Vasquez was to cover additional staffing in the DA’s office, including an attorney dedicated to drug distribution cases, as well as another who will oversee cases where a defendant is offered diversion in the form of drug treatment. Vasquez told the media outlet that the current budget allotment isn't enough....
“With his request, Nathan Vasquez wants to subvert the will of the legislature by criminalizing more people struggling with addiction before HB 4002 is even implemented—a move that shows Nathan Vasquez’s commitment to ramping up the war on drugs, and that oversteps both the official start of HB 4002 implementation and his tenure as District Attorney,” the joint letter reads.
Is everybody on the board of directors of the Food Bank down with this? Do they even know what's happening? It's probably not worth pursuing. But you don't have to donate to them.
Not a nickel or a can of soup to the OFB. Properly fund the DA's office and start to get pathetic Multnomah County back on track.
ReplyDeleteI should have known it was going bad when they threw away the Blues Festival.
DeletePeople need to stop donating money and food to the Oregon Food Bank. Donate to the Sunshine division or a local/ neighborhood food pantry.
ReplyDeleteIf the Sunshine group would get an active and aggressive PR staff, I would be wonderful.
DeleteIt. Hate that spell check app
DeleteThere now appear to be 24 Board members, maybe twice what there used to be, and it appears stacked with like minded minions . The transformation is all the work of the Susannah Morgan. She has made OFB her personal political megaphone.
ReplyDeleteHow in the heck did an organization that is ‘supposedly’ dedicated to feeding the poor become so weird and so political? I remember getting bags of food back in the day……and the people involved were usually stern, older black women who made you first work for a few hours. And the eventual food received was probably a couple months out of date.
ReplyDeleteNow you probably get a “Stolen Land” sticker with each bag, bulging with culturally appropriate items.
They don't get it, they never will. There is no safe amount of "drug addiction" with the toxic brew out there today. We are not going to be able to save very many people, but we at least have to do what we know works. Hell we still don't know who is out there, what is their situation, do they have any support network. Any clown posse supporting the current "non"-process, is an enabler of death.
ReplyDeleteThey don't need my "round-up" at the Freddie's checkstand. OFB is part of the industrial hunger complex and is very well-funded by big money. Jack, I'm sure you've looked at the 990. Line 8 is $104M+ and assets $88M? Government grants alone are $19M. They can give me money...
ReplyDeleteThey all list pronouns. So you know right away all you need to know.
ReplyDeleteWhat does a budget request from the District Attorney-Elect regarding drug prosecution have to do with their mission of food security?
ReplyDeleteThese people need to stay in their lane. This crap doesn't do anything to advance the core mission, and the board members should remind them of that.