Murdock Trust Gives $1.2 Million to Oregon Food Bank

The grant comes as inflation and economic turmoil are poised to increase Oregonians’ need for assistance.

SM with apples Susannah Morgan. (Courtesy of Oregon Food Bank)
By Helen Huiskes

Amid increasing demand for emergency food and rising consumer prices, a charitable organization granted its third donation to Oregon’s primary food bank network.

The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust this week announced that it was awarding $1.2 million to the Oregon Food Bank for renovation and expansion of its facilities in Portland and The Dalles. The purpose of the donation is to increase the Oregon Food Bank’s capacity for fresh, locally grown food storage and transportation.

This is the third and largest grant awarded to the Oregon Food Bank by the Murdock Trust. The first was $300,000 in 2016 for “client data systems expansion.” In 2020, the trust granted $350,000 for “COVID-19 strategic funding.”

The Oregon Food Bank currently operates a statewide warehouse in Northeast Portland, 21 regional food banks, and 1,400 pantries, free food markets, and meal sites in Oregon and Clark County, Wash. In 2021, over a million people visited Oregon Food Bank facilities for emergency food assistance.

The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust was established in 1975 by the will of the late Melvin J. Murdock, founder of the pioneering Oregon technology company Tektronix.

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