This Saturday’s green bag food pickup will be the 100th in a program that has collected 2.3 million pounds of food for the hungry
By Rep. Pam Marsh June 9, 2026
It’s always a feel-good moment to pack that bag with soup, chili and peanut butter, knowing that the food I supply will help sustain my neighbors. But this week’s pickup is special: Saturday, June 13, is the hundredth neighborhood pickup — a milestone for a program that has collected more than 2.3 million pounds of food to supply Ashland Emergency Food Bank. Even more, 16 years of magic green bags have inspired similar programs in Talent, Phoenix, Medford, Portland and across the state and country.
In 2008, longtime Ashland resident Paul Giancarlo took his young kiddos out with a red wagon to ask neighbors if they wanted to donate food for neighbors. A surprising number said, “yes.” Shortly after, Paul and former Ashland resident John Javna founded the Ashland Food Project, with a model predicated on the notion of regular, predictable and neighborhood-based food pickups.
And it works! Before I had this job, I was manager of the Ashland Emergency Food Bank. I can still remember the jolt of pure joy I felt on the second Saturday of every other month when those green bags arrived bearing precious inventory and transforming empty shelves into overflowing pantries. Knowing that the Food Bank will be able to provide necessities to families, older adults and struggling neighbors validates faith in community and generates boundless gratitude.
Bountiful green bags have enabled our food banks to address the growing demand for food assistance. They have also changed our community’s relationship to the issue of hunger. Before the Ashland Food Project, food drives typically occurred a couple of times a year — right before the winter holidays and whenever the Scouts initiated a collection. If we are being honest, many of us responded by donating items from our cupboards that we could do without — duplicates, mistakes, cans that had been sitting for a while. We felt pretty good about that but we didn’t spend much time thinking about what or how to donate.
In contrast, the regular, every-two-month Food Project system collection schedule reminds us of the obvious truth: People are hungry all year long, not just in winter. Donating food has become an objectively deliberate process, an opportunity to reflect on the need, and a regular, predictable part of our lives.
We are living in times when the world often seems beset with intractable issues beyond our capacity. But the Ashland Food Project is a reminder that we can sometimes address problems simply by thinking differently about them. Volunteers, green bags filled with love, a good Excel tracking system and stellar leadership changed our community. For that, I am eternally grateful.
To learn more and get involved, go to ashlandfoodproject.com.