For Riverview, aiding local food banks is an important part in supporting the community. Fill-A-Bag is a grassroots effort initiated and sponsored by Riverview, in partnership with local newspapers and businesses throughout Skamania, Klickitat, Marion, and Multnomah counties.
Traditional, brown paper grocery bags, purchased and designed by Riverview, are distributed to households throughout these areas with the help of community members and local area newspapers. Many of the sponsoring businesses hold folding parties, where community members come together to fold the grocery bags to fit in their local newspapers. Once distributed, participants are encouraged to fill the brown paper bags and drop them off at a Riverview Branch or participating location.
When the food drive is complete, food from the collection sites is distributed to food banks in the area – SnowCap Community Charities in Gresham, Turner Christian Church and Bethel Baptist Church in Aumsville, and the Washington Gorge Action Program ’s network of food banks in Skamania and Klickitat counties. This annual food drive has become a staple among the participating communities, as well as a huge contribution to stocking the shelves of the different food banks.
Riverview employees are as involved with the Fill-A-Bag program as the communities are: donating almost 120 hours of marketing, accounting, and planning services to help make the food drive successful.
Fill-A-Bag is the largest annual food drive that benefits SnowCap Community Charities. With the large contribution from the Fill-A-Bag food drive, SnowCap is able to allow its customers twice as many visits to its food pantry. Not only has Fill-A-Bag campaigns of the past years provided much needed donations of food, they have raised awareness of hunger in East Multnomah County and proven that communities can make a difference when they work together. Since 2015, Fill-A-Bag has donated over 1.5 Million pounds of food to SnowCap.
Over the last 4 years, Washington Gorge Action Program’s network of food banks has received 111,551 pounds of food collected through the Fill-A-Bag food drives based in Stevenson, White Salmon, and Goldendale. Turner Christian Church, Bethel Baptist Church, and the residents of Marion County have received the equivalent of 21,086 pounds of food from the food drive efforts of Fill-A-Bag and Riverview’s Aumsville Branch.
Fill-A-Bag Gresham from Riverview Bank on Vimeo