It’s been gratifying this holiday season to witness, once again, the generosity of Wallowa County residents.

In today’s issue of the Chieftain, you can read about how the Enterprise office of the Wheatland Insurance Center donated 1,306 pounds of food to the Northeast Oregon Regional Food Bank. The holiday haul included all manner of donations, from canned goods to potatoes and carrots to bottles of sports drinks and water. (The donations also included bags and cans of dog food for the Wallowa County Humane Society.)

The employees at the Enterprise Wheatland office relied on their community connections to help gather the food — and the community came through in a big way. (The Enterprise efforts were part of a companywide contest to see which of the company’s offices could collect the most pounds of food per employee, and the Enterprise office won.)

Of course, this isn’t the only holiday effort underway to help brighten the holiday season for county residents who can use a little help. Last week’s Chieftain featured an update about this year’s Enterprise Elks’ Christmas Basket Program, a program that provides food baskets containing a Christmas dinner to needy families.

In addition, the annual Tree of Giving project, which distributes Christmas gifts to children up to age 17 and senior citizens living alone, is underway for another season.

These wonderful efforts help illustrate the big heart of Wallowa County residents. They’re especially gratifying to see during the holiday season.

But, sadly, the need doesn’t go away after the holiday season.

Workers at the Food Bank — really, workers at any food pantry anywhere in Oregon — will tell you the demand for their services has only increased during 2022 progressed, and that demand shows no sign of abating.

Susannah Morgan, CEO of the Oregon Food Bank, the state’s primary hunger relief organization, estimates 1.5 million people will have visited the state’s food banks and pantries by the end of the year. That total is only slightly lower than the 1.7 million people who visited in 2020, during the heart of the COVID pandemic. Demand eased in 2021, and researchers say that’s because of the assistance programs the federal government rolled out to deal with the pandemic — programs that, in many cases, now have ended.

The statewide situation is mirrored in many ways here, where the Northeast Oregon Regional Food Bank serves residents in Wallowa, Union, Baker and Grant counties. Community Connection of Northeast Oregon, the organization that oversees the Food Bank, estimates that 14.7% of the people in the four counties experience at least some level of food insecurity — defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life. (The average for Oregon is 11.9%.)

If you do the math, it tells you that food insecurity is an issue for more than 1,000 Wallowa County residents. Chances are you know someone who’s grappling with food insecurity. And it’s worth remembering that nearly half the people served by the regional Food Bank — 44% — are children.

It’s wonderful that county residents are taking the time during their hectic holiday schedules to help less fortunate neighbors. But let’s be sure to remember that the need doesn’t go away after the holidays end.