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HOPE of Rainier Executive Director Kelly Miller grabs a bag of pears Monday, Oct. 3 from the nonprofit's new walk-in refrigerator in Rainier.

RAINIER — A local food pantry installed its first industrial-sized walk-in fridge as part of efforts to meet what the director says is a growing community need for affordable meals.

HOPE Executive Director Kelly Miller said the cooler came as a much-needed investment propped up by a donation from the Lower Columbia 100+ Women Who Care chapter.

“We have been needing one for a while,” Miller said.

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Before the fridge’s delivery, Miller said the Rainier pantry stored food out of about a dozen regular-sized refrigerators that would periodically break.

“We felt that just getting a permanent, large walk-in cooler and freezer would be the answer to constantly struggling with repairing older units,” Miller said.

With the population of Rainier on the rise and a food insecurity rate of 11.4% in Columbia County, Miller said it became clear the pantry needed to have more storage.

But a pandemic, cost inflation and supply chain issues somewhat delayed the pantry’s effort to get a new walk-in refrigerator and freezer.

The equipment cost somewhere between $48,000 and $56,000. When the COVID-19 pandemic put most people inside, Miller said the nonprofit’s fundraising opportunities dwindled.

In August 2021 charity group 100+ Women Who Care offered a $10,000 donation for the equipment. The pantry was able to find a manufacturer and place an order, which got delivered early July and installed about a week ago.

Produce for HOPE of Rainier clients sits in bins Monday, Oct. 3 at the pantry. The produce is typically stored in the nonprofit's new walk-in refrigerator.

Volunteers assembled both the new refrigerator and freezer in about 14 hours. Miller said the organization has only two paid staff, but about 17 volunteers.

The pantry provides more than food to the Rainier community, she added. Staff and volunteers help connect people to housing vouchers, utility assistance and propane to individuals who need it for cooking and heat. Miller also helps run two thrift stores, one in Rainier and one in Clatskanie. All of the proceeds from the Rainier store go to the pantry.

The need for assistance like clothing and food has grown especially in the last two years, Miller said.

Nearly 6,000 Columbia County residents are considered food insecure, according to health rankings collected by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

About 15% of Columbia County children are food insecure, as compared to 11% of the general child population, according to 2019 data from Feeding America. It’s projected that those numbers may have increased since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the group said in its 2021 report.

HOPE of Rainier Executive Director Kelly Miller looks over the nonprofit's garden Monday, Oct. 3 in Rainier. Miller said volunteers grow the produce, which is then stored in the nonprofit's new walk-in refrigerator. 

Certain socioeconomic factors can compound the issue, according to Feeding America. Research shows Native American, Black and Latino individuals are more likely to experience food insecurity, as well as older residents and those living in rural areas.

“Since 2020, the numbers have gone up with the people needing help, and we do whatever we can so people don’t get food insecure,” Miller said.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated with the correct website for the HOPE pantry.

Sydney Brown is a news reporter for The Daily News covering education and environmental issues in Cowlitz County.

Address: 404 East A St., Rainier, Oregon

Hours: 11:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays

Donations: P.O. Box 448 or www.hopeofrainier.com

Holiday meals: Apply in person through about the third week in November to receive a holiday meal box, which will be given out around Dec. 14. 

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Sydney Brown started at The Daily News in March 2022 covering education and environmental issues in Cowlitz County. She has a degree in multimedia journalism from Washington State University-Pullman.

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HOPE of Rainier Executive Director Kelly Miller grabs a bag of pears Monday, Oct. 3 from the nonprofit's new walk-in refrigerator in Rainier.

Produce for HOPE of Rainier clients sits in bins Monday, Oct. 3 at the pantry. The produce is typically stored in the nonprofit's new walk-in refrigerator.

HOPE of Rainier Executive Director Kelly Miller looks over the nonprofit's garden Monday, Oct. 3 in Rainier. Miller said volunteers grow the produce, which is then stored in the nonprofit's new walk-in refrigerator. 

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