Why Become a Sustainer of Hope?

Every overnight food bag, every mobile destination pantry serving Portland's food deserts, every visit to our onsite food and clothing pantry, every senior food box distributed, every article of clothing shared, and every act of compassion is made possible because neighbors choose to help neighbors.

With just 4 dedicated staff members and 37 incredible volunteers, Mainspring serves more than 100,000 individuals each year. As a 100% community-funded organization, every dollar stays right here in our community, helping keep our operations running, our mobile destination pantries serving neighborhoods with limited access to healthy food, and our shelves stocked.

Many people believe that food pantries receive all of their food through donations. While donated food is an important part of our mission, organizations like Mainspring must also purchase food through the Oregon Food Bank to help meet community needs. When essential items such as milk, cheese, eggs, cooking oil, fresh produce, protein, and other nutritious staples are unavailable through the Oregon Food Bank, we must purchase them from other sources to ensure our neighbors continue receiving healthy, nutritious food.

Most importantly, our services are free and available to anyone who needs them. We don't place barriers between our services and the neighbor you may never know is struggling. Every person who walks through our doors is welcomed with dignity, compassion, and respect.

A monthly gift provides dependable support that allows us to plan ahead, purchase the food our community needs, sustain our daily operations, and ensure Mainspring remains a trusted resource where everyone can find food, clothing, hope, and a caring community—not just today, but for the next 60 years and beyond.