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THE FRANCIS CENTER WELCOMES YOU
OUR MISSION
Find help from the Francis Center
The Francis Center is a non-profit food and clothing pantry started by Catholic Franciscan priests over 50 years ago. In the spirit of St. Francis, we strive to feed and clothe the most vulnerable in our society.
Today the lay volunteers that work at the Francis Center are from all faiths. We supply food boxes, clothing, toiletries and household goods to the community in East Multnomah County.
Whether it be homelessness, health issues, unemployment, underemployment or immigration issues, the Francis Center is there to help disadvantaged residents break the cycle of poverty and hunger. Our focus is on the vulnerable - serving the needy no matter their age, race, religion or sexual orientation.
The Francis Center is an equal opprtunuty provider.
https://www.fns.usda.gov/civil-rights/usda-nondiscrimination-statement-other-fns-programs
KEY PEOPLE
RUDY GRIGAR
Director
Rudy joined the Francis Center in 2016 helping in the food room. With help from Don Gainer, Rudy was called to step into the roll as director in November 2021. He is committed to continuing the mission of the Francis Center as a place to serve hope to the most vulnerable in SE Portland.
OUR SERVICES
We serve zip codes 97266, 97206, 97215, 97216.
FOOD PANTRY
Food boxes are available to east county residents Monday thru Thursday from 10am -2pm. Typically we provide canned goods, rice, pastas, flour, bread, beans, oatmeal, cereal, milk, yogurt, cheese, various meats (chicken, pork, beef and fish) plus an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables. Our grocery boxes are nutritionally dense and hit all the major food groups.
We politely request that visits are limited to once per month. If you are houseless we will serve you once per week.
CLOTHING
Clothes are available to east county residents Monday thru Thursday from 10am - 1:30pm. Volunteers organize and display clothing for men, women and children so clients can easily browse our selection. Typically we have coats, shirts, dresses, pants, shorts, underwear, socks, shoes, hats and belts. We also have toiletries, blankets and other miscellaneous household items available. We politely request that visits be limited to once per month for clothing.
*Covid-19 update: Due to the pandemic, clothing is only being offered as requested by our clients. Browsing inside our facility is not allowed. Upon request, we will fill your clothing needs and hand them out to minimize the spread of the coronavirus.
VOLUNTEER
If you want to donate or volunteer, please give us a call during business hours.
FOOD DONATIONS
We accept food donations from the Oregon Food Bank, USDA, Franz Bread, Dave's Killer Bread and private parties.
CLOTHING DONATIONS
We accept clothing primarily from private donations. We request clothing be donated in clean and good condition.
Clothing donations are accepted between 11am - 1 pm.
CASH DONATIONS
We accept cash donations primarily in the form of cash or checks. Make checks payable to Francis Center PO Box 66336 Portland, OR 97290. We are moving toward accepting electronic funds via credit cards, PayPal, etc.
VOLUNTEERING
Volunteering is always welcome at the Francis Center. Help in all areas is needed. We currently have 45 volunteers that help serve the community. Contact us by phone or email for an interview.
VISIT THE FRANCIS CENTER
Food Hours: Monday-Thursday: 10am-2pm
Clothing Hours: Monday-Thursday 10am-1:30pm
Upcoming holiday closures:
Labor Day: Monday 9/4/23
Reopening on Tuesday 9/5/23
6535 SE 82nd Ave, Portland, OR 97266
PO Box 66336 Portland, OR 97290
(503) 775-6784
NEWS UPDATES
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A LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR
Upcoming holiday closures:
Labor Day: Monday 9/4/23
Reopening on Tuesday 9/5/23
June 8th, 2023
Dear Francis Center Friends,
It feels like summer has arrived even though it's not officially summer yet. A BIG shout out to Boys Team Charity and Dean's Landscaping for helping with the barkdust we spread last Saturday June 3rd. Those hard working youth made quick work of 2 yards of mulch. It really beautifies our yard and our neighborhood. Once again, St. Francis would be proud of the way we care for Mother Earth and our community.
The numbers of people we serve continue to rise. It has put quite the strain on our volunteers and food resouces. As of Monday July 31st, we will be returning to our original service areas. Only zip codes 97215, 97216, 97206 and 97266 will be served. These zip codes are part of our original charter and are also listed with the Oregon Food Bank. But please know that we will continue to serve ALL people the best we can who come to our door.
We started our Link2Feed intake system on May 15th. Emily Goldberg from the Oregon Food Bank's Link2Feed office continues to give us a tremendous amount of support implementing this system. Link2Feed will help us speed up our intake process and keep accurate records of the people we serve.
We recently had our Oregon Food Bank evaluation given by Olivia McMonagle on 5/31/23. We are happy to say that the Francis Center was found to be in good standing with OFB guidelines. Olivia was very thorough and gave us several ways to improve our processes. Thank you Olivia and Oregon Food Bank!
In May we served 809 households (over 1800 persons) with food and clothing. We distributed over 20,000 lbs of food. Our volunteers gave 1112 hours of service to making this happen. Many thanks to our all volunteer family!
As a reminder, we have a wide assortment of clothing for adults and children. We also have toiletry items, Covid tests and facemasks. When visiting the Francis Center, please feel free to request anything needed, and we will do our best to help. With the grace of God we continue to serve those in our SE Portland community.
You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That is how prayer works!
Pope Francis
Rudy Grigar
Francis Center Director