Organizations Partner to Bring Holiday Meals to Native American Community Members
From the Next Door Inc.:
By Jordan Flores
"Many Native American community members face challenges when it comes to preparing a holiday meal," shares Dawn LeMieux, The Next Door Inc.'s Native Supports Program Manager.
Some live in unconventional homes that lack the essential resources to cook a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal for their families. Others living in conventional homes may still be getting used to them, may not have the capacity to reheat a meal or stand in the kitchen to prepare one, or haven't learned how to yet.
Over half of the households living in unconventional homes are in areas that are very hard to locate, leaving Native American outreach teams to organize deliveries or directly support community programs that have previously held community meals. This holiday season, The Next Door Inc.'s (TNDI) Native Supports team has been joined by community partners, Gorge Native American Collaborative (GNAC) and Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS), to bring comfort and joy to Native American community members in the Mid-Columbia region.
Following months of planning and outreach, the joint force, along with various community organizations and businesses, signed up 160 Native American households for holiday meal deliveries. Native American community members were given their choice of individual, precooked meals or food boxes. Individual meals, prepared and packaged by a meal delivery service in Hood River called Local Rhoots, included turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce. Food boxes contained uncooked dry goods and a 16-18 pound frozen turkey. Each family also received a 16-inch pumpkin, berry, or apple pie to go along with their dinners.
In total, the Native Supports team and our partners went door-to-door from Cascade Locks and Fort Rains to Celilo Village and Gorgeville (Goldendale area), and Glenwood, hand-delivering 450 individual precooked meals and 133 uncooked food boxes.
"Having Native American community volunteers and partners support Native American community members in a variety of wrap-around services is something that I did not imagine 5 years ago when I first started at The Next Door," says LeMieux. "I share in the gratitude with Native American community members for the supportive services and partnerships that have grown."
The Native Supports team delivered holiday meals alongside our partners and volunteers once more this year on December 21, just in time for Christmas.
The Next Door, Inc. is a community-based social service organization with offices in The Dalles and Hood River. They serve 3,500 people annually in a seven-county region. They have nearly 100 employees facilitating over 35 programs, all working towards our mission.
