Neighbors Feeding Neighbors serves Memorial Day breakfast, lunch in Eugene

Washington Jefferson Park filled with breakfast plates and packed lunches Monday as Neighbors Feeding Neighbors stepped in with a free Memorial Day meal for people who might have had nowhere else to go. About 150 people came through for food, a seat, and a place to rest in central Eugene on a holiday that can be especially hard for people without stable housing or regular meal access.

The group said it does not normally serve on Mondays, but it made an exception because FOOD for Lane County’s Dining Room at 270 W. 8th Ave. was closed for the holiday. The dining room is normally open Monday through Thursday from 12:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m., and its site listed it as closed Monday, May 25. FOOD for Lane County says meal sites can be visited as often as a person wants and no identification is required.

Neighbors Feeding Neighbors has been listed by FOOD for Lane County at West 5th Avenue and Washington Street in Eugene on Wednesday through Saturday, and for any holidays when FOOD for Lane County is closed. The group also serves at Washington Jefferson Park on Sundays through a separate FOOD for Lane County meal listing for Free People! That holiday schedule made the park a practical stop for people who needed food on a day when other services were shut down.

Board president Lisa Levsen said the takeaway lunch is intentionally prepared to be roughly 2,000 calories so it can carry people through the day. Volunteers served breakfast, packed lunches, and stayed on site for a little more than an hour as people came through, turning the park into a low-barrier safety net rather than just a symbolic gesture. The need is real in Lane County: Feeding America estimated 59,620 people were food insecure in 2023, a 15.6% rate, and the Oregon Food Bank says 1 in 8 people in Oregon and Southwest Washington face food insecurity.

The meal also landed amid Memorial Day observances elsewhere in Eugene and Springfield, where ceremonies honored fallen service members. In Springfield, the 77th annual Memorial Day ceremony drew roughly 100 people, underscoring how the holiday carries both remembrance and immediate community needs. In Eugene, the breakfast and lunch at Washington Jefferson Park showed how a neighborhood group can fill a gap when regular dining rooms close and the people who need help most still have to eat.