BEAVERTON, Ore. — For the last nine years, the Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ in Beaverton has packed food bags for homeless students at Beaverton High School. Volunteers have done this ahead of both their winter and spring breaks.
“So, we did 20 students the very first time. And now we’re up to 153,” said Nancy Winston, a volunteer at the church. "Personally, it's horrible for me to see the number growing."
According to the Beaverton School District, 1,684 school-aged students are currently homeless throughout their schools. Per the federal McKinney-Vento Program, that means students who lack a fixed, adequate or nighttime housing — for example, sharing housing with friends or family, not living with a parent, living in a motel, car or other public places.
That number is nearly 300 more students than Portland Public Schools saw during the 2022-2023 school year and about 400 more than Salem-Keizer during the same time frame.
“Students are amazing. They’re resilient, and sometimes, they’re going through a lot of just stuff," said Beaverton City Councilor Nadia Hasan.
Hasan said that she stopped by to show her appreciation for the program, as she previously taught at Beaverton High School and saw the issue firsthand.
“Sometimes, their families didn’t know how to ask for help," said Hasan. "And so, this program and Beaverton High School specifically makes sure that we’re able to identify some of those students and provide them the resources that they need.”
Other volunteers, who were also teachers, echoed the same feeling.
"I've been a teacher of students who were hungry, and I know what it means in terms of intellectual development and physical development,” said Donna Fowler, a church volunteer. "We are just really honored to do this for the students. I admire them."
Each student will receive six bags of food to eat during spring break, totaling over 9,000 pounds of food for volunteers to deliver down the street to Beaverton High School.
“A lot of kids are here relying on school lunches and school breakfasts, and we know that for some people spring break means something really different,” said Andrew Kearl, principal at Beaverton High School.
Fellow Beaverton High School students opted out of PE class to help deliver over 900 bags inside of the school to help their fellow classmates in need.
“Just knowing that we have kids that have a wide range of needs in our system and that people are willing to take the time, the financial resources to step up and support us is huge,” said Kearl.
This was all made possible thanks to a $7,500 donation from the city of Beaverton. Other donations were also made from the Oregon Food Bank, the church and other local food outlets.
Every student will also receive a $20 gift card to Fred Meyer thanks to Jesuit High School Alumni.