About Marion-Polk Food Share
Marion Polk Food Share’s mission is to bring people together to end hunger and its root causes.
Focus Areas
food securityhunger reliefcommunity gardeningsenior services (Meals on Wheels)youth education and developmentadvocacy for systemic change
Who They Fund
individuals experiencing food insecuritylow-income householdschildren and families in need
Funding Style
direct service supportcommunity-based program fundingemergency food assistance
About Marion-Polk Food Share
Marion-polk Food Share Inc centers its grantmaking on a single purpose: preventing hunger. The clearest pattern in the recent grants is repeated support for local food banks, pantries, and meal programs across Marion and Polk counties, with awards flowing year after year to the same community organizations. One of the largest grants in the file went to Mano-a-mano Family Resource Center in Salem for hunger prevention, and another large award supported St Vincent De Paul in Salem for the same purpose. The funder also backs place-based food access work in towns such as Independence, Aumsville, Dallas, Mt Angel, Keizer, Stayton, Silverton, and Portland, showing a dense local network rather than a broad statewide or national strategy. The grant list includes church-based pantries, community aid groups, and food banks, alongside organizations serving families and individuals facing food insecurity. This aligns with the stated mission to bring people together to end hunger and its root causes, and with focus areas that include food security, hunger relief, community gardening, senior services, youth education and development, and advocacy for systemic change.
What Marion-Polk Food Share Funds
The foundation’s funding is built around hunger prevention, but the recent grants point to several practical channels for that work. Food banks and pantries make up much of the portfolio: Ella Curran Food Bank in Independence received support in both 2023 and 2024, and Dallas Food Bank Inc also appears in consecutive years. Community-based meal access is another clear theme, with The Salvation Army Food Bank in Salem and Trinity United Methodist Church the Lord's Cupboard in Salem receiving support for prevention work. Church-affiliated pantry operations are also part of the pattern, including Jason Lee United Methodist Food Bank and Community of Christ Church Good Samaritan Food Pantry. These grants fit the organization’s stated emphasis on food distribution, meal programs, and nutrition access and affordability, while the broader mission language points to work on hunger’s root causes as well as immediate relief.
How Marion-Polk Food Share Gives
Typical grant sizes are substantial for local food assistance: the 25th percentile is $41,410, the median is $103,328, and the 75th percentile is $234,878. The grant list shows repeated support for the same recipients across multiple years, especially in 2023 and 2024, which suggests ongoing operating-style relationships rather than isolated awards. The organization does not make grants to individuals and does not make program-related investments. Its giving is local, and every recipient in the grant sample is in Oregon, with the full recipient-country distribution recorded in the US. The file does not show an application process, so the pattern visible here is relationship-based, recurring support for established community food providers.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$8.9M
Total Assets
$20.8M
Total Revenue
$23.1M
Total Expenses
$21.9M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $41K and $235K, with a median of $103K.
25th Percentile
$41K
Median
$103K
75th Percentile
$235K
Geographic Reach
Local1 state funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
RICK GAUPO
Accepts unsolicited proposals
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