[Posted Thursday, August 18, 2022]
From one can on Wednesdays to two cans on Tuesdays, SW Portland's charitable non-profit PositiveCharge! PDX has demonstrated that a small but consistent effort can make a big difference—Two Can Tuesday has generated 48,000 pounds of food donations in just over two years.
Originally called One Can Wednesday, the program started in June 2020 as a pandemic-safe way for people to donate needed food and hygiene items to the Neighborhood House Food Pantry. The concept is simple: Donors place contributions in front of their homes on the designated day each week (typically a Tuesday), and volunteer drivers pick up and deliver the donations to Neighborhood House.
The project has been very successful, says PositiveCharge volunteer Rhona Feldman, with 300-600 pounds of donations collected each week and six new routes with eight new drivers added in July.
With the help of a grant from the City of Portland’s Office of Community and Civic Life, now organizers are growing the effort to additional neighborhoods in SW Portland and hope to recruit drivers for new routes in Hillsdale. PositiveCharge! PDX provides training and support, including marketing materials, to get each driver started. For more information on how to get a route started, email twocantuesday@gmail.com or go to www.positivechargepdx.org/two-can-tuesday.
In addition to weekly pick-up routes, ongoing drop-off bins are located at the following locations during business hours every day of the week:
Basics Market in Hillsdale, 6344 SW Capitol Hwy
Driftwood Coffee, 4604 SW Vermont St
Western Pet Supply, 6908 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy
Gills Point S Tire & Auto, 5215 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy
—Valeurie Friedman
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