Great American Dineout 2009

Did you know that 17.2% of children last year, were in danger of going hungry? That means one out of every six children were at risk of, or going hungry. Pretty sobering if you ask me, and if you really think about it – that stat would include Oregon. With these tough economic times it’s not going to get any better and unless we do something about it and that’s where Share Our Strength comes in.

Their mission is a simple, yet hard one – end childhood hunger. One of the ways their going about it, is the Great American Dineout, last year over 4,000 restaurants participated in the event from across the nation – including here in Portland.

Here are some of the ways the funds from the Great American Dineout were used by Share Our Strength last year, and what the money will go towards in 2009.

• Increasing participation in school food and nutrition programs
• Increasing the number of community gardens
• Food banks and food pantries
• Increasing access to fresh produce
• Increasing utilization of federal child food and nutrition programs, e.g. food stamps, school breakfast, etc.
• Advocacy around Child food and nutrition-related programs

Restaurants can contribute in a variety of ways, from donating a percentage of sales, to promoting select menu items and much more. The second annual Great American Dineout is happening from September 20th through the 26th and just like last year a variety of Portland restaurants will be involved.

Here is the current list of Portland/Vancouver establishments that will be participating.

Claim Jumper Restaurants
9085 SE Sunnyside, Clackamas, Oregon 97015 – 503-654-3700
www.claimjumper.com

Claim Jumper Restaurants
18000 SW Lwer Boones Ferry Road, Tualatin, Oregon 97224 – 503-670-1975
www.claimjumper.com

Daily Grill
614 SW Park, Portland, Oregon 97205 – 503-294-7001

Salty’s on the Columbia River
3839 N.E. Marine Drive, Portland, Oregon 97211 – 503-288-4444
http://www.saltys.com/portland

The Pit Stop Sports Bar & BBQ Grill
10245 SW Canyon Rd, Beaverton, Oregon 97005 – 503-643-4758
http://www.pitstopbbqgrill.com

Sargo’s Subs
22532 NE Park Lane, Wood Village, Oregon 97060 – 503-669-8281

Joe’s Crab Shack
101 SE Columbia Way, Vancouver, Washington 98661 – 417-337-7373
http://www.joescrabshack.com

Vancouver Pizza
2219 Main Street, Vancouver, Washington 98660 – 360-750-1176
http://www.vancouverpizza.net

If you are a restaurant and would like to get involved, here is information on how to do so, and trust me I’d like to see a few more establishments on this list. The best way for the rest of us to lend a helping hand is to Dineout during September 20th through the 26th at one of the establishments listed above.

Go grab a cup of coffee, a sandwich or even a pizza – every little bit helps.