OUR HISTORY

Food Share started out in 1980 as “Manna Ministries”, a grass-roots effort to help provide emergency food to Florence area residents. Manna Ministries was put together by a group of churches in Florence and operated out of peoples’ garages and car trunks. Joe and Eulah Aringdale and Bundy and Rose Albertoni were the lead volunteers in this effort. In the mid to late 80s, health concerns required that both couples give up the Manna Ministries work.

Florence Food Share then moved, and began working out of the Siuslaw Area Women’s Center building. Food Share operated under the umbrella of the Florence Area Coordinating Council while a group of individuals worked to secure the tax-exempt, 501(c)3 status. In 1988 Florence Food Share found a home at the Laurelwood Center on Maple Street in Florence.

In 1994 Florence Food Share moved to its permanent home at 2190 Spruce Street, on land leased from the New Life Lutheran Church. The Food Share building was built with the help of grants and a local building fund drive led by Del Phelps and Dave Dahlberg; local contractor Robert Wilcox led the volunteers and paid workers to the completion of the building still in use today.

WHO WE ARE

Florence Food Share is a private, non-profit, emergency food box pantry. Our mission is to alleviate hunger in Western Lane County, Oregon. We provide emergency food, free of charge, to low income, disabled, senior, unemployed and underemployed individuals and households in the areas of Florence and the Dunes City/Westlake areas of coastal Oregon.