In a rare opportunity, Oregon Food Bank CEO Susannah Morgan addressed the United States Senate Committee on Finance – chaired by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) – to provide witness testimony on the topic of Examining Charitable Giving and Trends in the Nonprofit Sector. In her testimony, Morgan shared the importance of community support while reinforcing the best way Congress can reduce hunger: federal action on proven solutions that directly support families and address systemic barriers to prosperity.
Testimony of Susannah Morgan, CEO, Oregon Food Bank to the United States Senate Committee on Finance
Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, Members of the Committee: thank you for the opportunity to share my on-the-ground perspective regarding charitable giving in the nonprofit sector.
My name is Susannah Morgan, and I am the Chief Executive Officer of Oregon Food Bank. Our network is among the largest in the country, with a central warehouse that provides resources to 21 regional food banks — which then support over 1,400 pantries, free food markets and meal sites across Oregon and Southwest Washington.
Our mission is to end hunger and its root causes. To build communities that never know hunger, we need living-wage jobs, affordable housing and childcare, and protection from discrimination. When we hit tough times, we need strong government safety nets, like SNAP, to ensure everyone has access to food. Food banks should be the last resort when other systems have failed — and food alone will never solve hunger.
I have worked in anti-hunger efforts for 26 years across several states, and the past two years have been the most challenging in my career. More than 865,000 people sought emergency food assistance through the Oregon Food Bank Network in 2019 — nearly 1 in 5 of our neighbors. In 2020, this number rose like a tsunami to a jaw-dropping height of 1.7 million people, and remained painfully high at over a million in 2021.
To read more of the Oregon Food Bank post, please click here.
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