Too many Oregon students do not have enough to eat at home. So Central Point Chapter 47 knew exactly what to do with the funds they received from OSEA’s Membership Incentive Program (MIP): create a food pantry at Jewett Elementary.
“Most schools in our district already had food pantries, but not Jewett,” said Chapter Vice President Jodi Medina, who led the project with Treasurer Alecia Elverude. “We have a lot of low-income students, and there is definitely a need.”
MIP helped Central Point raise their membership rates to 95 percent – a nearly 30 percent increase. “We were able to hold membership drives, which we hadn’t before,” said Elverude. “And we just went out to staff, talked to them and told them the benefits. That’s what really made the difference!”
The chapter plans to do whatever they can to keep membership rates high. They want to be able to continue to use MIP funds to support food pantries across the district.