KVAL food drives raise 42,023 meals for Lane County and region

A spring food drive that moved through KVAL and local food banks produced 42,023 meals, but the total lands against a deeper hunger problem in Lane County, where families are still squeezed by higher costs, housing instability and the stop-and-start rhythms of work and health. The drive shows how far a few weeks of giving can go, and also how much need remains once the boxes are counted.

KVAL’s 2026 CanDo! Food Drives ran in May across the viewing area and collected 8,947 pounds of food plus $11,756 in cash donations. One participating location also received a $1,500 OnPoint match. In Lane County, the donations went through Food For Lane County; in the Corvallis area, they benefited Linn Benton Food Share. Because each food bank converts dollars into meals differently, the campaign’s results were tallied carefully rather than treated as a simple cash total.

The size of the result matters because Food For Lane County is built for this kind of pressure. Founded in 1984 as a grassroots response to hunger in Lane County, the nonprofit now works through about 150 partner agencies and serves thousands of individuals and families across the county. Its 2024 annual report said it distributed more than 8 million pounds of food last year, and another recent report said it served more than 469,000 meals countywide. Food For Lane County also says it can access and distribute about three meals for every dollar donated, one reason cash drives remain such an important part of the local hunger response.

The need behind those numbers is not abstract. Oregon Food Bank’s 2025 Hunger Facts says 1 in 8 people and 1 in 6 kids in Oregon and Southwest Washington face food insecurity. Food For Lane County warned in late 2025 that SNAP cuts could affect up to 75,000 Lane County residents, adding strain to the same shelves and partner agencies that the KVAL drive helps support. In a county that ranks as Oregon’s fourth most populous and still carries a higher-than-average poverty rate tied to food insecurity, the demand reaches Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove, Florence, Veneta and rural communities alike.

The 42,023 meals from KVAL’s drive helped, but they also underline the scale of the job ahead. As summer demand rises and school-year meal programs change pace, Lane County’s food bank network will keep leaning on donations, matched giving and the local agencies that move food into neighborhoods where it is needed most.