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43 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, October 10, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 24, 2004 Manny Alvarez, food relief assistant at Fred Meyer�s north Medford store, sorts through milk from behind the display case looking for dates that have expired. A new ACCESS Inc. program will allow such products to be donated to the hungry. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Waste not, want not ACCESS program allows aid agency to shuttle food to the needy instead of items being tossed by groceries By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Here’s a question for every shopper who knows to reach way back in the dairy case for the freshest gallon of milk: What happens to the rest? What happens to all of those cartons of milk, cups of yogurt and bags of shredded cheese — never mind the slabs of steak in the meat case — once they’re past the printed pull date? For the most part, the stuff is discarded, said Philip Yates, manager of nutrition programs at ACCESS Inc. in Medford. In a single Oregon grocery store, as much as 200 pounds of dairy, meat and deli products go to waste each day. Starting in October, however, some of that waste will be reclaimed in Jackson County. ACCESS has been chosen to participate in a pilot project launched by the Oregon Food Bank, an effort aimed at delivering usable, nutritious food to the region’s hungry families. Advertisement Dubbed the ACCESS Fresh Alliance, the program will provide a new source of sustenance for the 2,700 families served by the agency’s food pantries each month, Yates said. "If we’ve been short on something, it’s always been protein," he noted. Key to the effort is a donation by Boise Building Solutions, formerly Boise Cascade Corp., which will provide $50,000 to pay for a 12-foot refrigerated truck. Announced today, the donation will provide the capacity to recover some 4,000 pounds of perishable food daily, generating perhaps 100,000 pounds of usable dairy, frozen meat and deli products in the first year of operation, Yates said. In addition to funds for the truck, Boise is also contributing more than $20,000 in plywood for completion of transitional housing for mentally ill people and another $9,000 for weatherization repair for low-income homeowners. The nearly $80,000 in donations are, in part, a debt of gratitude from Boise to ACCESS, Bob Smith, the firm’s human resources manager, said Thursday. When a 1998 Labor Day fire destroyed the company’s Medford plant, suddenly idling hundreds of workers, ACCESS stepped up. "We remember the assistance that ACCESS and the staff there provided and how helpful they were," Smith said. That sparked a partnership that led Boise to donate a smaller refrigerated truck three years ago, launching the ACCESS Food Rescue program that retrieves usable food from local restaurants. That program is effective, but it doesn’t provide nearly the amount of donations that a grocery store can offer, Yates said. The Fresh Alliance will begin with a partnership with the area’s two Fred Meyer stores, then gradually expand to include up to 10 local groceries within a year. That could mean up to 500,000 additional meals for hungry families in Jackson County, Yates estimated. "This broad-based community partnership, which provides quality food for some of our neediest citizens, demonstrates the caring values of ACCESS and the partners in this effort," he said. Once the program begins, ACCESS workers will visit local grocery stores daily, retrieving dairy and deli products that have reached their pull dates. The food will be recycled immediately to area pantries. Meat that has reached its pull date will be subjected to an ACCESS blast freezer to preserve it instantly for later use. The arrangement delights Yates, who’s always looking for new ways to feed the hungry. "The struggle for people is extraordinary," he said. "This will help." Care home for mentally ill gets a boost Boise Building Solutions’ donation of more than $20,000 in plywood will help bring a first-ever local shelter for mentally ill people closer to reality. The wood will help complete construction of Woodrow Pines, an eight-unit apartment and transitional housing complex in downtown Medford. The new place is aimed at offering mentally ill adults a chance to live independently, but with assistance, said Lorna Anderson, a program manager for residential services for the Jackson County Mental Health Department. "There’s not anything like this I know of in the valley," said Anderson. ACCESS Inc. will own and manage the complex, located on properties at 1139 and 1084 Woodrow Ave., Medford. An on-site manager hired by ACCESS will coordinate training and support necessary for the residents. In time, clients could gain enough skills to live on their own, Anderson said. —�JoNel�Aleccia Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities