FOOD for Lane County - Lane County Courts

Court Employees Collect Cans and Coins for Kids

For the 118 full-time staff and 15 judges who work for the Lane County Circuit Court, the Governor’s State Employees Food Drive is about the kids.

David Factor is the Trial Court Administrator for the Lane County Circuit Court and, along with a team of committed staff members, oversees the drive there.

“Every day we see the children of people who come to court to deal with every type of legal matter,” said Factor. “The people who come to the courthouse are not here in the best of circumstances. No matter what anyone might think of the parents and what brought them to court, no one can make the case that a child elected to be in a situation where they can’t get enough to eat.”

Kids are too often the unwitting victims of their situation, and hunger is no exception. In fact, 46% of the people FOOD for Lane County serves are children and seniors. Nearly one in three Lane County children ate from a food box at least once last year.

“There’s a strong belief by staff here and certainly by me that no one in the county should be hungry,” said Factor. “On top of all the other reasons people come to the court house, hunger shouldn’t be an issue they have to deal with in their lives.”

This February, Court staff collected funds and food items specifically for infants and children, including baby food and formula.

“We really appreciate that employees at the Lane County Circuit Court understand that we need help obtaining certain foods,” said FOOD for Lane County food solicitor Deb Buchanan. “Baby formula is one of those foods, because it is expensive, and when it is donated it is often close to its expiration date. Collecting food for infants and children is a huge help to us and will benefit thousands of Lane County children.”

“To focus on the kids is a great way to rally our staff around the issue of hunger and encourage them to participate in the drive,” said Factor. “For us, involvement in this food drive is a real positive thing we can do in the workplace to assist in the county.”

Local Businesses Support Drive
In 2005, Circuit Court staff had their best food drive ever, donating cash and food equivalent to 16,173 pounds of food. Their goal this year was 20,000 pounds. Drawings for individual prizes and a pizza party for the staff team that collects the most food provided additional incentives. Staff coordinating the drive acquired donations from many local and Oregon businesses, including All That and More, Portland Trail Blazers, Highland’s Brew Pub, Eugene Emeralds, Fast Lane Coffee Company, Jiffy Market, Capella Market, Sundance Natural Foods Grocery Store, The BBQ King, Quizno’s Subs, Euphoria Chocolate Company, Anna’s Food Palace, Papa’s Pizza and Albertsons.