The Governor’s State Employees Food Drive is back for a month of fundraising and awareness throughout March.
This annual event partners state agencies with their regional Oregon Food Bank network member. The University of Oregon’s primary beneficiaries are Food for Lane County in Eugene, Oregon Food Bank for UO Portland, and South Coast Food Share for the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology.
The fun and friendly fundraising competitions among UO departments belie the stark reality of food insecurity in Lane County and beyond. It affects our neighbors, relatives and UO students.
A lot has happened since last year — unstable SNAP benefits funding, grocery and household item price increases, and federal assistance cuts for programs addressing food insecurity. Oregon Food Bank assistance sites experienced a 31 percent increase in visits from families and individuals in 2025.
How to help by donating money
The food bank uses the formula that $1 donated can provide three meals. The quick and easy way to donate money is through the UO Governor’s Food Drive 2026 website. You can also choose to associate your donation to a specific department.
Monthly payroll deductions allow you to spread out your donations for 12 months. UO employees can set up a payroll deduction by filling out an online form. Last year’s form expired so a new one must be submitted if you’d like to continue a donation from last year.
How to help by donating food
The food bank is able to stretch every dollar of donations by buying in bulk and leveraging vendor relationships, but that can lead to less variety. Picture a truckload of peanut butter versus a favorite hot sauce or dessert kit donated by you. Oregon Food Bank has a list of the most in-demand food, but all non-perishable food donations are welcome. Food donation barrels are located in Johnson Hall, Ford Alumni Center (third floor) and 1715 Franklin. Many departments have a smaller collection tote for gathering non-perishable, nutritious food.
How to help by having fun
UO departments come up with creative ways of raising money for their team in the food drive. Last year, Safety and Risk Services held staff events over their lunch hour. Two coworkers played barista and made drinks to order with their espresso machine in the SRS Café. The team played Bargain Bingo where the winners got prizes of whatever their coworkers had brought from home (think a vase and dryer balls), but one person donated an IOU for a baked treat. This year’s new event is a kitchen-expert coworker who will teach a class, notably how to make sourdough. And everyone gets a starter.
“The goal for all our events is to make sure everyone feels like they can participate, donation or not,” said department coordinator Zoey Johnson. “We never want to make people feel excluded because of financial constraints, especially when the whole point of the food drive is to be helping people in tough situations.”
Elsha Larsen, the department coordinator in University Health Services, organized a book swap sale where employees donated their used books. Larsen priced them between $3-$5 and displayed them in the employee breakroom with a cash box and a QR code that linked to their food drive donation web page. They raised $239 that week.
—Jennifer Archer, University Communications