Giving Back for Christmas

In the spirit of the Christmas season, we at Cal-Ore Produce have taken great joy in giving back to our community and beyond throughout the month of December. Here are just some highlights of the fun we’ve had partnering with a number of great organizations and meaningful causes this month!

A 2nd grade teacher at Lemon Valley Elementary School came and told us about a potato bar dinner fundraiser her school was doing this year, which also included a variety of fun activities for children, called Winterfest. This teacher told us, “All the profit from Winterfest goes straight back to helping our underprivileged kids… but the cost to buy potatoes for the event makes it hard to do much more than break even.”

When we heard that, of course we wanted to help out. 400 potatoes, lots of full tummies and a fun time later, $1,800 were raised to directly help the students who need it. We are so grateful to have had the chance to help out!

These weren’t the only potatoes we gave away though – we were honored to help out the Klamath Food Bank by sending a semi full of potatoes their way. They were extremely grateful; however, with our shipment, they were so well stocked that they asked if it would be all right if they could pass some potatoes on to the Portland Food Bank. As our manager of Plant Operations, John Hughto, said, “Of course—the more that can be fed the better! Potatoes that have gone to waste don’t do any good for anyone.” All of us at Cal-Ore Produce couldn’t agree more!

We were thrilled to contribute financially to Friends of the Children, an Oregon-based operation that uses professional mentors to enrich the lives of children who are particularly at risk. We also were excited to make the decision to donate $8,000 each year for the next five years to the Oregon State University’s Potato Research and Extension program which we believe will enhance and better the industry we know and love.

We feel so much love and support from our families and community it only seems fitting to turn around and offer support back. It is so rewarding and amazing to see how different parts of our community help each other out with every kind of need!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at Cal-Ore Produce!