Sunshine Division To Pack, Deliver 3,800 Holiday Food Boxes

PORTLAND, OR - From The Portland Police Bureau: The Portland Police Bureau Sunshine Division, with the help of community members and Police Bureau members, will pack 3,800 holiday food boxes, Monday, Dec. 11 and Wednesday, Dec. 13 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at their 687 N. Thompson St. location in Portland.

Holiday food boxes are already accounted for and will be home delivered on Dec. 16 with the help of hundreds of volunteers and three Portland Police Bureau precincts.

The holiday food box program is supported by food and funding donations through Albertsons Safeway, the OCF Eddie Wilson Fund, Botsford & Goodfellow Inc., Ventura Foods, Franz Bakery and Shari's Café & Pies. Significant support through select Albertsons Safeway stores' "Turkey Bucks" and "Santa Bucks" in-store promotions, along with additional individual, foundation, and corporate food and funding, have supported the 95-year program and Portland tradition.

"This program has impacted hundreds of thousands of families in the Portland area over the years. We really couldn't do this without the support of the community," said Officer Matt Tobey, Sunshine Division's assigned Portland Police Bureau officer. "Safeway and Botsford & Goodfellow Inc.'s generosity has allowed us to continue to improve the quality of food offerings to families each year."

The Sunshine Division was unofficially started in 1922 when the economy dipped and the City of Portland had to lay off some 40 police officers. To compensate for this loss, volunteer civilians gathered to serve in emergency situations — a group eventually called the Portland Police Reserve.

The Reserves found themselves responding to widespread poverty in Portland by collecting food to fill Christmas baskets that were delivered to Portlanders in need. Their efforts started an annual tradition that later formed a division of the police called the "Sunshine Division."

Nine decades later, the Sunshine Division provides year-round free food and clothing support to struggling Portland families, seniors, veterans, and the disabled through a variety of programs.

While still closely partnered with the police, a civilian staff works with law enforcement to implement the nonprofit organization's year-round food and clothing assistance programs.

Photo courtesy of The Portland Police Bureau