Stu O’Neill, Katie Merola, and Amber Ferguson
By Rebecca Marshall, Cascades Communications Director
It’s been almost 5 years since the Alameda and Obenchain fires ripped through Jackson County, destroying 2,500 homes in a matter of hours. The fires were fueled by high winds that carried them through communities, leaving a path of destruction and changing lives forever.
Amber Ferguson, Executive Director at Rogue Food Unites (RFU), was watching closely on September 8, 2020. The flames stopped short of her home by only a couple of blocks, but she could see that her community was hit hard, and she had to do something.
“I thought I’d help the way that I know how, and that’s with food,” says Ferguson, “My father has worked in fire response all his life. I’ve worked in restaurants and in the food industry for much of my life. This was just in my DNA.”
She and a group of people organized quickly. They worked with local restaurants to provide meals for those who had lost everything. It was a perfect storm because Covid had already shuttered most restaurants, but they were ready to jump in and help.
Within that first week, Ferguson connected with the American Red Cross. Red Cross volunteers were already on the ground providing shelter and other services and they were happy to partner with Rogue Food Unites to begin delivering meals. Within three weeks, RFU had a contract with the State of Oregon which is still in place today.
Amber Ferguson, RFU Exec Director
Stu O’Neill, RFU Chief Financial Officer
Stu O’Neill, is the current Chief Financial Officer for Rogue Food Unites, based in Ashland. He, too, remembers that day.
“I was working as an independent contractor and much like Amber, we just saw what happened and knew we had to do something. My family and I opened our house as a hub for donations and sent donations across the valley out of our driveway. Neighbors pitched in and we just rolled up our sleeves,” says O’Neill.
He remembers a man who lost his home in the town of Talent. He and his girlfriend came every day for 6-8 hours and managed the donation site at O’Neill’s home. They had lost everything but still showed up to help the other people who were affected. That’s the kind of thing you see all the time in disaster.
“There’s a sort of fear that when systems break down people will turn against each other, but I’ve seen the opposite. Everyone drops their affiliations and biases and feelings, and they get busy and see how they can help each other out. It’s such a beautiful thing,” says O’Neill.
Five years later, Rogue Food Unites is still working in these communities because there are still food insecurities that need to be addressed. They work with local farmers and businesses to operate the Neighbors Unite Market every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the towns of Talent, Eagle Point, and Medford. They offer organic produce and meat at no charge for those who show up. The approach is, these folks may have more structure today and can cook for themselves, but the financial burden is still there for them.
RFU distributes about 2,000 meals a week at these food markets, which also serve as a social hub to bring people out of their homes and share stories, hugs and get real connection.
Neighbors Unite Market
Ferguson says food can truly heal people: “It offers the opportunity to do the next thing. If we are nourished, we can put one foot in front of the other. It’s also less isolating when we can eat together in a challenging time.”
After the fires, one woman confirmed that belief for Ferguson: “She said we saved her life because she was so isolated and alone but because RFU was so consistent, morning noon and night, and there was a face behind that, it kept her alive.”
They are still in touch with that lady today.
Their work continues to evolve to serve the people of Jackson County and the state of Oregon. For example, they are working on a freeze-dried option for 15 different meals so they can distribute this prepackaged food to all corners of the state. That way, they take care of immediate food needs if there’s any delay in delivering prepared meals after a disaster like damaged roads or inaccessible neighborhoods.
O’Neill says; “One of the things I’m most proud of is we are responding to food insecurity every day and also preparing for disaster response and we’re doing that by supporting our local farmers and business owners and producers.”
Rogue Food Unites is one of 14 nonprofit agencies the American Red Cross has partnered with in Jackson County as part of the Community Adaptation Program (CAP). It’s a nationwide program that takes a hyper-local approach to creating resiliency in select communities. Katie Merola Community Disaster Risk Reduction Coordinator for Jackson County. She says those partnerships include Talent Maker City, Firebrand Collective, the Kindness Effect, Hearts for Seniors, and more.
Food in RFU warehouse
The Red Cross has provided disaster training, subject matter expertise, and the purchase of physical items like durable medical goods for “Hearts for Seniors”, an elevator for Talent Maker City to make their building ADA compatible and even purchased a refrigeration unit for Rogue Food Unites so they can safely store food.
What’s next? Merola says, “No one wants a disaster but our next step if there is a disaster is to bring all these groups together to help recover more quickly and thoroughly.”
Ferguson agrees. No one WANTS a disaster but if it happens, “we would love that call for 100 meals breakfast lunch and dinner. We would love to help. We’ll do that.”
In the end, Ferguson says, “Disasters begin and end with Community and we might as well see that through with each other and we know how to take care of each other.”
If you want to learn more about Rogue Food Unites, watch this incredible video HERE.
If you want to learn more about the Red Cross CAP program and how they support communities, click HERE.
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