SnowCap director honored for service to hungry

Oregon Food Bank highlights charity's innovative approach

Judy Alley believes in sharing credit as much as she believes in sharing food.

Recently named a 2015 Hunger Hero by the Oregon Food Bank, Alley, executive director of SnowCap Community Charities, says she was “humbled and honored” to be cited for her work, but adds that many other names could go on the award as well.

 “I realize it is not just my work. It’s for all of SnowCap and what we do here,” she says. “It is for the staff and volunteers who try harder day after day.”

Myrna Jensen, Oregon Food Bank spokeswoman, said Alley “was honored due to her client-centered approach to service” and her “innovative thinking.”

“Judy has been a true leader in East County,” Jensen adds, noting the award states: “She has consistently advocated on behalf of other agencies in order to provide the best services possible to people with limited resources.”

Alley received her award at the annual Oregon Harvest Dinner in support of the Oregon Food Bank, held in October. The Oregon Food Bank collects and distributes food to numerous anti-hunger agencies, including SnowCap, which serves families and individuals in East Multnomah County.

Alley has served as SnowCap’s director since 1991. The Oregon Food Bank gave her its Innovation Award to recognize her “creative, out-of-the-box, effective solutions to help people in need fight hunger,” according to a press statement.

During Alley’s tenure, SnowCap has begun a program in which volunteers deliver food to homebound seniors unable to drive or walk to its pantry. She has also overseen the computerization of the agency’s databases, which now include information “that tells us what kind of food to ask for from donors,” she says.

Alley also instituted evening hours so the working poor - who make up a large portion of SnowCap’s clients - could come and get food and clothing from the agency, in their off hours.

The award also recognized Alley for overseeing the creation of a shopping-style pantry in which clients can pick up donated food as if they were at a market rather than simply getting prepacked boxes as was done in the past.

The award cited Alley for “developing creative partnerships with outside organizations, like with Multnomah County’s County Crops program.”

“We receive all the vegetables they grow across from McMenamins Edgefield on land that was the county poor farm,” Alley says. “We have gardens and garden classes to encourage people to ‘grow their own’. We formed a partnership with Oregon State University Extension to provide nutrition education to our clients.”

During her tenure, Alley also instituted programs like “Baby Shower in a Box,” which gives expectant mothers needed assistance in the form of blankets, diapers, onesies, T-shirts, rattles and booties for their coming child, as well as “Mommy Meals,” which help supplement the protein needs of expectant and nursing mothers. 

“This was an idea from some nursing students we had working with us for a while,” Alley says. “They were concerned about low birth weight babies and suggested this as a way to help.”