In October 2021, demolition crews removed the aging picnic shelter at Montavilla Park and planted new grass turf. Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) has postponed the planned modern 2,000-square-foot open-walled replacement shelter due to a department-wide budgetary shortfall. Now, half a decade later, without a functional covered park space, a community group is circulating a petition to build that Montavilla Park structure.
The aging picnic shelter at Montavilla Park fenced in 2020 and demolished in 2021
Before demolition work began, PP&R updated the Montavilla Park Picnic Shelter project webpage, announcing the pending deconstruction of the structure and noting the lack of funds for its replacement. That web page is no longer accessible to the public. Park staff planted grass seed on the worksite, and signs of the shelter’s past presence are near undetectable. In 2021, PP&R representative Mark Ross confirmed the project’s indefinite delay while emphasizing that staff would continue to seek opportunities to revive it in future budgets.
With Montavilla’s decaying shelter demolished and no longer a danger to parkgoers, the replacement shelter project eventually disappeared from the PP&R project page. However, the picnic shelter is still listed as a Montavilla Park amenity on the location’s official web page and park maps. Tired of waiting for the project to become a priority on its own, Hope & Bread Street Church decided it was time to launch a petition requesting that the project be returned to priority status with PP&R. The faith group uses the park 52 Sundays a year, in all weather. The lack of covered shelter is a significant burden for that group, and they understand it is impacting other park users as well. The petition will collect the digital signatures from all interested parties who want a new picnic shelter in Montavilla Park.
Proposed Montavilla Park Picnic Shelter from 2021
Hope & Bread Street Church’s volunteers pride themselves on adapting to conditions and set up portable canopies during the winter months. However, they note that wind and rain limit their ability to keep people dry year-round, and they want to serve attendees with dignity while remaining accessible to those who are not comfortable attending within a traditional indoor gathering space. Although the host petitioner’s need is specific, their request is generic: for all community members and all Montavilla Park users to have access to a covered area within the neighborhood’s public recreation space.
Hope & Bread Street Church’s representative says the petition has 70 signatures from its participants and hopes the community will join their efforts. This request comes at a time when the city faces a budget gap of over $160 million, and many city services will likely face significant cuts. However, even during budget shortfalls, PP&R has tapped System Development Charge (SDC) funds paid by eligible developers. That money is used for capital projects that expand the park system’s capacity, including the expansion of existing parks or facilities. People have until May 17th to sign the petition before it is delivered to the Portland City Council.
On April 25th, marchers held the 20th annual 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade from Eastport Plaza Shopping Center to SE Clinton Street. Former U.S. Representative for Oregon’s 3rd congressional district, Earl Blumenauer, and Nancy Chapin were the 2026 Grand Marshals. The procession featured community groups, businesses, elected officials, dancing horses, youth performers, and the diverse cultural flavors that fill 82nd Avenue and East Portland.
Grand Marshals Earl Blumenauer and Nancy Chapin
The parade drew significant crowds along its one-mile route, closing the busy roadway for a few hours on Saturday morning. Sunny skies warmed the morning air, but temperatures remained moderate for the marchers and fans lining the street. Organizers say it has never rained on the parade in its two-decade run.
With the 2026 parade completed, the 82 Roses Community Enrichment Coalition members will begin work on next year’s event, which they expect will continue to grow for another 20 years and feature more participants and enhanced production elements.
82nd Avenue is one of the most important city streets. I’m excited for the activity here to reconfigure it, to make it safer, to make it more efficient, and to help revitalize this important street, this is the number one transit street in the entire city. And the work that’s being done here is going to transform 82nd. It used to be kind of the dividing line. I think 82nd Avenue is going to bring the city together. I’m really excited about what’s happening here. This parade is an expression of that. – Earl Blumenauer
Colise Johnson and her husband, James, run a small food pantry from their home, a few blocks east of the Leodis V. McDaniel High School athletics fields on the corner of NE 86th Avenue and Brazee Street. As economic pressures push more people into food insecurity, they say the number of people served at this privately funded community resource has increased to an estimated 400 per week. They fund a sizable portion of these efforts through can deposit redemption and donations from people who wish to support the weekend lunch program and their Thursday pantry boxes.
Social media graphic courtesy Colise Johnson
Johnson explained that her home is filled with a fluctuating amount of food ready for weekly pickup by individuals and groups who visit her white house with purple trim. “We’ve got a big freezer out in the back and what we call a mini Winco upstairs,” explained Johnson. Nearly an entire floor of the home is dedicated to stocking canned and dried goods. Stacks of empty produce boxes sit on the front porch waiting to transport food. The couple and around 15 volunteers serve the majority of people on weekends with lunches. “Mike and Faye just brought over 300 sandwiches because we do 300 lunches a week, and a hundred of those go to veterans at least every week,” said Johnson. “We put in a bottle of water, a snack, a bag of chips, and the little fruit snack bags. If we have fruit, we use that as well.”
The volunteer staff only includes a bottle of water in the lunch if the person is unhoused as a way to stretch a slim budget and reduce waste. Additionally, on Thursday pantry box days that operate from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., they ask people what they want to eat instead of giving everyone the same items. “The reason I give them choices is because you see so many food boxes left on 82nd, or up on Glisan, or on Halsey because they take what they want out of the food box, then leave it,” remarked Johnson.
Pantry refrigerator filled with hundreds of sandwiches for lunch kits
Most of the food they give out is first-come, first-served. “There have been days that I’ve opened up at 9 o’clock, and our breads have been gone by 11:30 a.m,” Johnson said. But in those cases, they tap into reserves upstairs and give people anything they want so they will not leave hungry. “I’ll give them whatever I have here and just make the best of it.” The only time people need to sign up for food is on special holiday meals that require more planning. “For Thanksgiving and Christmas last year combined, we did 88 total dinners. We fed 537 people, and almost $2,000 of that was pop can money,” said Johnson.
In addition to accepting donated cans, Colise Johnson traverses the neighborhood in her motorized chair to pick up discarded cans. However, recent changes to the Green Bags bottle and can deposit redemption program limit people to 30 sacks per account per calendar quarter. This policy change has hampered the food pantry’s funding efforts, limiting its ability to scale up operations. Johnson has limited fundraising options, but the deposit collection has supported the feeding efforts for 27 years. “I have cerebral palsy and epilepsy. I can’t work, but I want to do something,” said Johnson.
The couple explained that funding restrictions will not prevent the pantry from continuing its work. They are thankful for the support of volunteers who keep the efforts going. “We’ve got Faye and Mike, we’ve got Corey and Garrett, we’ve got Terrence and his crew, and Don. We’ve probably got 15 volunteers. People come over and help me restock upstairs; they don’t think twice about coming over and donating their time,” recalled Johnson. “Danny comes in from the VFW and picks up the vets’ lunches and hands them out at Fort Kennedy.”
Johnson says they make a special effort for veterans who experience food insecurity. However, they serve all people and create a safe space by not tolerating abusive language directed at themselves or guests. Their goal is to be easy to access for people in need, and they are willing to give whatever they can source from private donations. “We don’t ask for ID. We don’t ask for any of that. We just give them the food,” said Johnson. “We give out school supplies, we give out sleeping bags, tents, we give out clothes, shoes, we make personal care kits.”
The community food pantry accepts donations to keep the program running. “We can’t take anything that’s open. We can’t take anything that’s expired. But we gladly accept donations,” explained Johnson. “If they do happen to bring donations of any cans and bottles, please bring them up to the porch. If you just set them over the fence, they’re going to get stolen.” The couple has dealt with theft of items from their property and some violence over the years. Overall, people are just grateful they are there year after year.
Colise Johnson explains that this multi-decade effort to feed people is her way of contributing to the support she received earlier in her life. “It was done for me when I was a single mom with two kids. People helped me, and we were able to start giving out what we had. We always tell everyone it’s a hand up, not a hand out.” What began as a simple way to pay support forward has only grown year over year as demand has increased. “The economy sucks, and the worse the economy gets, the more people we get. Grocery prices, gas prices, rent prices; you name it, it contributes to hunger,” remarked Johnson. She explained that some people who are not accustomed to needing support sometimes come in with the wrong attitude and need to adjust to current circumstances. “When you’ve got food insecurity, and you’ve got financial insecurity, we’re seeing a lot of entitlement. And it’s getting more and more as the times get tougher.”
This is a small community food pantry run out of a home in a residential area. They limited hours by locking their gate and had to shut down their self-service option due to abuse. Even with the added visitors to the area due to their efforts, Johnson says they have the support of the people around them and hope to keep doing this work as long as they are able. “We’ve got great neighbors. They have never had a problem with what we do.” Colise Johnson and James welcome donations of unopened food and personal care items. You can contact Colise on Nextdoor or Facebook to arrange drop-off times. Visitors are asked to wear a mask indoors for health reasons.
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The 20th annual 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade returns on April 25th at 9:30, featuring over 70 groups, including many returning and several new participants. The event organizers will use the scaled-back route implemented last year, starting at Eastport Plaza and ending just short of Montavilla at SE Clinton Street. To celebrate its two-decade run, organizers are adding additional days of activities in the district on Friday, the 24th, and Sunday, the 26th.
The volunteer-led organization, 82 Roses Community Enrichment Coalition, produces the parade each year, having taken over the operation from the 82nd Avenue Business Association. For most of its run, the parade started at Eastport Plaza Shopping Center and ended on SE Yamhill Street. This year, the procession will start from SE Cora Street, across the road from Eastport retail complex, and march less than a mile north, ending right before SE Division Street. People can gather along the SE 82nd Avenue parade route to view the marchers and procession vehicles. However, with the parade no longer ending at SE Yamhill Street, Montavilla spectators will need to walk south past Portland Community College’s Southeast campus to watch the various groups walk, dance, or drive down the road.
Ken Turner started work on parade planning in 2006 when he served as the Eastport Plaza Manager and 82nd Avenue Business Association President. In 2007, the first parade participants marched along its route and quickly grew into a significant community event over the following years. It has been 20 years since the first event; however, they have had to skip the tradition four times during its run. Planned protests and safety concerns led organizers to cancel the parade in 2017. Leaders halted the in-person event during the pandemic and took the parade online for 2022. The traditional parade returned in 2023 to a crowd ready to see its revival. Volunteers bringing this East Portland event to fruition believe the parade shows appreciation for the diverse population that defines 82nd Avenue by celebrating the community’s art, music, and dance.
Sponsor logos for the 2026 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade
The Regional Arts & Culture Council and the Office of Arts & Culture provided funding for this year’s parade, along with sponsorship by several area businesses. Funtastic Carnival will set up in the parking lot of Hong Phat Super Center, 4200 SE 82nd Avenue, for all three days as part of the celebration. The Impalas Car Show will start right after the parade at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 25th. The parade features the Rose Festival Clown Prince, Rosarians, brass bands, premier Chinese dance groups, classic cars, America’s First Corps Band, City & Metro Councilors, costume characters, dance and theatrical groups, plus Middle and High school Marching and Jazz Bands.
Multnomah County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards and State Representative Thuy Tran in 2024
People looking for a front-row seat can volunteer as parade traffic monitors. One or two volunteers control every crossing along the 82nd Avenue route, and staff coordinators still need people. Volunteer applicants can complete a form at 82rosescec.com. A little before the parade starts, and to its conclusion, unauthorized vehicles are prohibited on SE 82nd Avenue from SE Holgate Boulevard to Division Street. People driving to destinations in the area during that time should select a different route. APANO and the Parade are also holding a SOLVE Oregon cleanup on Sunday, April 26th, from 9:30 a.m. through noon to clean up after the event. People interested in volunteering can sign up at volunteer.solve.org.
On Friday, April 24th, Multnomah County’s Homeless Service Department (HSD) and site operator Do Good Multnomah invite the public to preview Harrison Community Village Shelter from 2 to 4 p.m. The newly completed sober-shelter site at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue will soon host 38 shed-style sleeping quarters for adult residents.
April 24th Harrison Community Village Shelter “Sneak Peak” invite courtesy Multnomah County
Multnomah County purchased the former recreational vehicle dealership at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue in December 2022 for $2 million. This 34,000-square-foot parcel was the second Montavilla location the County bought that year for temporary shelter services. The other shelter, Oak Street Village at 333 SE 82nd Avenue, opened in February 2025 and is currently operating at full capacity. The Joint Office of Homeless Services—now renamed the Homeless Services Department—has held several community meetings, including one in February where the nonprofit Do Good Multnomah staff elaborated on the site’s sober shelter model that aims for people to stay onsite from 90 days to three months as they work towards stable housing in a recovery supportive environment. Presenters explained that residents and staff are subject to drug testing, and policy strictly prohibits the possession of non-prescribed intoxicants on the property. Selecting a sober format meets community desires for the county-owned site, which is near two Portland Public Schools. Do Good Multnomah will conduct background checks on potential residents looking for past criminal history, and those with a record of abuse of vulnerable populations are directed to another, more appropriate shelter or resource. The site is also a weapons-free zone.
HSD will contract with the operator to staff the alternative shelter site at all hours of the day. The residents will receive a private sleeping pod made by Portland-based LIT Homes, each offering an 8 by 10.5-foot room with heating and cooling. Six converted shipping container units will provide office space for staff, participant services, hygiene facilities, kitchenette amenities, and laundry facilities. Residents and their pets will have on-site access to a modest green space. The site will receive upgraded fencing with privacy inserts on all street sides and a wood fence between the adjacent residential property to the east. The site intends to offer more than short-term shelter. People in the program will have access to dedicated housing case management and abstinence-based recovery services to help with long-term substance use recovery and housing stability.
Kitchenette with refrigerators, microwaves, and a sinkPet relief area for residents with dogs
People staying at Harrison Community Village will have access to a kitchenette with refrigerators, microwaves, and a sink, along with dining space. The site offers a pet relief area for residents with dogs, and residents are expected to keep their animals on leash in public spaces. However, not every person can have a pet. The site operator tries to limit the shelter to a total of five dogs and five cats. People can seek outdoor leisure away from the elements in a covered carport-style outdoor seating area. There are laundry facilities, shower rooms, and bathrooms in separate structures. All shared amenities are accessible to people with special mobility requirements, and select units are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)- compliant, with ramps and platforms, providing no-step entry.
Enhanced privacy slats installed in the fence
The site is completely fenced, with a new chainlink barrier on three sides of the property using enhanced privacy slats installed in the fence. Unlike some other installations, these plastic inserts have wings on the side that better fill the gaps where the wire links connect, providing significant visual obstruction. Site designers also planted greenery along the SE Mill Street frontage to provide additional buffer between the newly updated sidewalk and the shelter space. The eastern edge of the property, abutting a residential lot, was fenced with wood. That neighbor had previously expressed concern because the County’s southern fence only follows the property line, leaving a gap between existing fences. The construction crews received permission from adjoining landowners to work beyond the property line and filled that gap.
Gap between fences beyond the county’s property line filled at neighbor’s request
HSD estimates it will cost $107 per night to house and provide supportive services to each resident. This number includes utilities and staff time. This location is opening at a time when the City of Portland and Multnomah County are looking to reduce shelter space due to budget concerns. The two Montavilla shelters along SE 82nd Avenue are not under threat of closure, but other smaller shelters in the County are concerned about possible closure.
Planting buffer alon SE Mill St
The Harrison Community Village Shelter Preview may be the only opportunity some residents will have to see inside the shelter, thanks to the enhanced privacy fence. It is one of many public outreach efforts by HSD to involve the community, including a Good Neighbor Agreement that was crafted with input from Do Good Multnomah, the 82nd Avenue Business Association, African Youth & Community Organization, APANO, and the Montavilla Neighborhood Association. People wishing to attend the April 24th event should complete an online RSVP form.
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In July 2025, Oregon Metro purchased a 1.46-acre property at the intersection of SE 90th Place and SE 89th Avenue for planned Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). For over a decade, community advocates have envisioned the large, sloped property as a neighborhood park and are now seeking support for that project ahead of Metro’s RFP (Request for Proposals) this summer. Residents and interested parties can complete an Online Form to endorse a call for the City to purchase the lot from Metro and to direct Portland Parks and Recreation to create public green space for the expanding community in this area.
Park Rendering from the 2018 EPA Greening The Jade project document
Metro’s TOD team plans to introduce new affordable housing at the site with help from partner developers. The early concepts included open neighborhood greenspace, but not at the scale documented in the 2014 Jade District community visioning plan or the 2018 EPA Greening the Jade project. The community outreach recorded in those documents showed a desire and expressed need for green space across all groups in the neighborhood. The Metro-owned property at 2815 SE 90th Place is in the center of a community surrounded by busy city roadways, a State highway, and a freeway. Harrison Park is the closest park to this location, at over half a mile away, and often serves as an extension of the adjoining school’s campus rather than a neighborhood park.
2815 SE 90th Placeproperty with fence
Andrea Pastor, Metro’s Senior Development Project Manager of Housing and TOD, explained in a September 2025 interview that Metro purchased the land along SE 89th Avenue using an allocation provided by the Oregon State legislature for a revolving acquisition fund around 82nd Avenue. “With all of the improvements happening on 82nd, including the planning of the new transit, we wanted to prioritize the area. So we made a specific legislative ask back in 2023 for some funds to buy land near 82nd,” said Pastor. “We have been basically looking and making offers on properties in the area for the last couple of years.” She notes that Metro has often owned land around transit with the intention of developing it. “We are trying to think of ourselves as a regional land bank specifically aimed at building affordable housing near transit.”
The Jade District advocacy organizers seeking support for the park say Metro TOD is willing to sell the parcel, but City of Portland support must be secured before Metro releases an RFP to potential developers in August or September 2026. The park space is across from The Jade apartments, which are currently under construction and will offer 15 units with family-sized accommodations, including three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The workforce housing development will also create 14 one-bedroom and 11 two-bedroom flats. The expanded pool of families on this street would benefit from a new city park with a safe crossing to a play area. The site can also amplify existing green space that is not publicly accessible but protected by Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services, which owns the lot to the south of this property. It serves as a natural stormwater detention area where plants and soil help absorb the area’s rainwater. It also contains a sewer pump facility that requires 24-hour security for community safety and asset protection. Depending on the City’s flexibility, designers could extend park space into some of the stormwater detention area land without compromising security.
Image from the 2018 EPA Greening The Jade project document
Park designs and amenities presented in the visioning materials are illustrative only and do not constitute final design options. If the idea receives community support through the Online Form and city officials adopt the property for a new park, future community outreach from park planners will drive the development of the green space. Whether the land serves as a public park or affordable housing, this large, underdeveloped property will become a needed community resource as housing density brings more people into the Jade District.
On Thursday evening, March 12th, supporters and guests of Volunteers of America Oregon gathered near the Convention Center to celebrate the family safety, substance use treatment, behavioral health, and post-criminal justice system support organization’s 130 years in the state. After hearing from VOA Oregon’s current President and CEO, Maree Wacker, and Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read about the benefits of a planned 5.67-acre campus at 8815 NE Glisan Street, attendees were asked to donate towards the facility’s construction and support the group’s other active programs.
VOA Oregons’s Community Changemakers: From Past to Possibility event on March 12, 2026
Volunteers of America Oregon purchased the Montavilla-based property in 2021, which had previously served as a church. The organization’s President and CEO at the time, Kay Toran, was instrumental in selecting the NE Glisan and 90th Avenue property as a new campus and treatment center. Her quarter-century of leadership concluded when she retired in early 2025, with few updates on campus development plans during the nonprofit’s leadership transition. The new location should allow the organization to co-locate some of its programs in an East Portland site, creating new community resources and one-stop service delivery alongside centralized administrative functions.
Looking Northwest at future NE Glisan site. Rendering by Opsis Architecture provided courtesy VOA Oregon
In February 2024,area residents reviewed renderings of the proposed facility and learned about the phased buildout plans. Designers with Opsis Architecture arranged the proposed campus with external functions in buildings adjacent to NE Glisan Street and internal services in the site’s northwest half. The proposed VOA Oregon buildings will stand two stories tall along the site’s southern edge, rising to three levels as the land slopes downhill, maintaining a consistent scale along the frontage. Crews will reconstruct the existing parking lot, adding more trees and landscaping between the 92 stalls. Another cluster of lots along the property’s northern edge will provide an additional 54 on-site parking spaces. The early redevelopment will raze the 1950s-era church building and add frontage improvements along NE Glisan Street with significant work on NE 90th Avenue. Road Crews will reconstruct sections of NE 90th, adding sidewalks, street trees, and curbside parking spaces to the street’s western edge.
During the 2024 community outreach, Toran noted that the construction schedule is dependent on fundraising efforts. Since that time, VOA Oregon began using two buildings at Jessup University’s Multnomah Campus for its residential treatment for women with children. This partnership leverages surplus dormitory space at the faith-based higher education campus located at 8435 NE Glisan Street, just west of the future VOA Oregon site. Jessup University placed its 20-acre Multnomah campus on the market in 2025 and is still seeking a buyer for the entire property. Depending on which group purchases the university site and its redevelopment timeline, VOA Oregon staff may have a limited timeframe to relocate to the new property. Making this fundraising effort essential to maintaining long-term operations in the area.
VOA Oregons’s President and CEO Maree Wacker speaking at the Community Changemakers: From Past to Possibility event on March 12, 2026
A successful fundraising effort should advance the timeline for work at the VOA Oregon’s NE Glisan Street Health and Family Services Campus. Maree Wacker explained to the Thursday night audience what they intended to create at their site and why people should support their efforts. “Located in Northeast Portland, our campus will become a regional hub for healing, recovery, health, and hope. It will include 100 residential treatment beds for individuals facing severe substance use disorder, co-occurring mental health conditions, and pregnant women with children. Integrated intensive outpatient services that help individuals coming from residential care and back into the community, serving over 15,000 people each year.” She went on to explain that their trained staff will offer recovery housing with outpatient services, including peer support from people who have lived experience redirecting their lives from addiction. The campus will include space for essential health care, along with support, to create mental and physical stability so program participants can succeed in finding housing, employment, and long-term success. The organization provides specific support for families, and the planned campus includes facilities for childcare, helping people stay connected to their parental role as they seek behavioral health services.
Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read speaking at the Community Changemakers: From Past to Possibility event on March 12, 2026
Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read followed up with a declaration that the proposed campus was “the kind of solution Oregon deserves. It’s a model that is integrated. It’s evidence-based. It’s place-based. And that vision becomes even more transformative when we recognize the power of placing services designed to care for people and families through some of the most difficult moments in their lives, all in one place.” Read continued to highlight the nonprofit’s campus design’s efficiency and effectiveness. “It’s not about convenience, it’s about connections, reducing duplication, simplifying access, and strengthening accountability. Above all, it is centering dignity and equity, ensuring that the people we’re serving are meeting a system that is designed around them.”
In both speakers’ descriptions of the planned site development, they highlighted the value of having a single location that serves the range of needs of people interested in improving their lives. “Imagine those 100 new residential treatment beds alongside outpatient services, alongside recovery housing, alongside family support. It’s not a collection of disconnected programs, but a true continuum of care, one that welcomes people at the turnstiles of crisis and walks with them through stabilization and healing and through long-term recovery,” exclaimed Read. “This campus is not merely a collection of buildings. In this case, it is a coordinated system. It’s not coordinating programs, but coordinating people, organized and designed around people.”
“We are building a future where services are integrated, where isolation is replaced with connection, and where people now needing recovery encounter support instead of obstacles,” said Wacker. “This campus is more than buildings. It declares loudly and clearly, you belong here. No matter your past, hope lives here. A place that restores your dignity and gives you a chance to leave behind who you’ve been and finally become that person you always knew you could be.”
The VOA Oregon’s Health and Family Services Campus at 8815 NE Glisan Street is likely years away from opening. The nonprofit will continue seeking financial support for the multi-phase buildout. As of yet, there are no active demolition or construction permit applications listed for the property. However, remarks at this week’s fundraising event show the group is intent on continuing the work started under Kay Toran’s leadership and setting up roots in the Montavilla Neighborhood.
Across from Eastport Plaza, the Meals on Wheels People nonprofit is transforming a full block frontage at 4035 SE 82nd Avenue into an East Portland food distribution hub and resiliency center for a community that depends on their system for regular sustenance. The warehouse portion of the building already houses frozen and shelf-stable meals for the nonprofit’s programs on this side of the river. When construction is complete, this site will serve as a backup kitchen for their westside primary facilities, a resource center, a counter-service restaurant for program participants, and an event space.
The organization purchased the property in July 2021 with the intention of quickly expanding its delivery network, which distributes prepared meals to collection locations across the region where people come to eat in groups, or where volunteers collect and transport those meals to homebound elderly recipients. “We originally thought we could do this pretty quickly because the [existing] warehouse was added on in 2014. We could start with a warehouse because we weren’t moving any walls or anything, just installing our freezers and coolers in there. That took forever, so we then said, ‘Well, let’s do the whole deal,'” recalled Suzanne Washington, the Chief Executive Officer at Meals on Wheels People. They began work in phases, using the completed sections as crews renovate existing structures and then begin construction on new structures. “Phase one was that warehouse. Phase two is some offices and then part of the service area, as I call it,” explained Washington. Most of the building is single-story, but the area under construction will have two levels, an event space upstairs and the main floor hosting a kitchen, cafe area, hub for senior deliveries, and additional space they intend to lease to another service provider group that would benefit from being connected to Meals on Wheels People patrons.
Rendering of expanded building on SE 82nd Avenue courtesy Meals on Wheels People
During the nonprofit’s phased buildout, the neighboring Eastport Food Center cart pod closed, with its owner moving out of Oregon. He listed the property at 3905 SE 82nd Avenue for sale, and Meals on Wheels People purchased it in August 2024 to support development logistics and provide future auxiliary vehicle storage space. “We own this lot across the street, which is right now our staging for construction, but it will become parking for the event space and the senior transportation vans,” said Washington. The main Eastside facility has a parking lot, but four stalls support Electric Vehicle (EV) charging for the growing fleet of battery-powered transportation used by Meals on Wheels People. The SE Center Street accessed parking lot dedicates a sizable amount of space to the “U” shaped driveway that will support the speedy loading of delivery vehicles. Having the expanded parking across the street allowed designers to focus on operational uses adjacent to the building. The large lot across the street also allows for the delivery and staging of produce directly to this location. “So fruits, vegetables, and supplementary food will be delivered here directly, so we don’t have to bring them from Multnomah Village. Multnomah Village is now only bringing those frozen meals,” Washington said.
Reducing the amount of food transported is a key component of this expansion project. Although the established network had served the 55-year-old organization, leadership identified vulnerabilities and operational inefficiencies that this East Portland hub could address. A primary labor and cost savings would come from reducing the number of site-to-site transport trucks needed. “We will be able to get rid of a diesel truck and use our electric vehicles to deliver to Gresham, MLK, and all the places on the east side,” explained Washington. “Right now, a big diesel truck, which costs us $8,000 a month, goes to 20 different sites. We can be better for the environment and get rid of it.” The organization received a PGE Drive Change Fund grant for a second EV to replace a diesel medium-duty delivery truck with an electric delivery truck and to install charging infrastructure.
Another key concept in building along 82nd Avenue is based on maintaining operations when a disaster or weather prevents cross-town traffic. “The goal was to get a hub for emergencies on this side of the river. Our central kitchen right now is in Multnomah Village, and that’s where we make every meal fresh daily. We cook, flash-freeze, and then package anywhere from 6,500 to 8,000 meals a day. All the home deliveries are frozen [with volunteers] dropping them off for a whole week.” In the event of road network disruption, demand for food from program participants increases, and the ability to continue operations will be a critical lifeline for elderly people trapped at home. The kitchen at this new site will primarily serve people walking in for meals, but it has the capacity to prepare 2,000 meals a day in times of emergencies. It also has substantial freezer space for storing food. “The warehouse freezer right now has 45,000 frozen meals in it,” said Washington. They circulate the stockpile every day to deliveries in East Portland, but keep a reserve for emergencies. They also keep another 20,000 shelf-stable meals that can further bolster food delivery capabilities in situations where not everyone may have access to power to store and cook deliveries. The building is served by dual-fuel generators to keep the facility operational even if the power grid is down, and contractors will install solar panels on the roof, further ensuring the building remains powered and reduces its daily dependence on utility power.
Rendering of expanded building on SE 82nd Avenue courtesy Meals on Wheels People
Suzanne Washington and others led the drive to buy this property because the organization is relying on leased space east of the river, and making this level of investment in someone else’s property would not have been a good use of resources. Additionally, the current locations are too small for the storage needs provided by the 82nd Avenue building. However, this new space will not immediately replace any existing site as the nonprofit needs those locations to continue serving its primary function. “We’ll keep those sites because people can only go so far. We do two things. For older traditional adults, we do home-delivered meals, and then we do congregate dining, where, if they can, we get them out of their homes to eat with other people. It’s much better for their health,” Washington said. “We still want to provide that service where they can come in and eat.”
Similar to other locations, the SE 82nd Avenue building is designed to bring people in to eat, but with more flexible hours and the ability to order something prepared to the individual’s tastes. “When somebody comes in for a meal here, first of all, they can come in at 8 o’clock and get a breakfast burrito; it doesn’t have to be lunch. They can eat at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, they order at the counter, and then we’ll bring it to them,” remarked Washington. “So we can serve the diversity of folks out here with their ethnic cultural needs and not your traditional lunch where you get one of two choices, and that’s it, because we control this space.” She describes it as similar to a Chipotle restaurant, where a person can customize flavors and mix and match base ingredients, all prepared fresh on site.
Rendering of tech hub courtesy Meals on Wheels People
Guests can stop in at this location on their schedule, but they must become program participants and are limited to one meal per day. “It’s not meant to open to the street, especially right on this street,” said Washington. “We had a place downtown that we closed because most of the older people wouldn’t come because we had so many homeless folks.” Meals on Wheels People’s primary mission is serving older adults 60 and over. Washington explained that about 30 percent of the organization’s funding comes from the federal government through the 1965 Older Americans Act. “That comes with requirements like we have to have certain dietary guidelines and we have to ask for donations [from recipients], but there’s no coercion for that donation.”
Although serving older adults is what most people associate with the Meals on Wheels brand, through other funding systems, they also help alleviate food insecurity among youth and their families. The Meals 4 Kids program serves families with at least one child under 18. “Last year, we served over 275 people within those families. We provided more than 300,000 meals,” said Washington. In this program, families receive frozen meals with supplemental foods like bread, milk, and fruit, or they can get the raw ingredients and cook them themselves. The program is based out of the SE 82nd Avenue facility and primarily serves East Portland residents. “The great thing about that program is that over 70% get the raw food and then they’re home with kids cooking, doing homework, that kind of thing. Not trying to haul somebody around on the bus or trying to figure out how to make a meal out of a school backpack,” remarked Washington. They have other dietary assistance initiatives, including one that delivers medically tailored grocery boxes to pregnant and newly lactating women.
Rendering of dining area courtesy Meals on Wheels People
Food is at this organization’s core, but this new location will help Meals on Wheels People further expand services beyond feeding people by offering a tech hub and community space within an environment where people can eat healthily alongside their peers and stay to discover other opportunities and services to enrich their lives. This project represents a significant milestone for Meals on Wheels People. Suzanne Washington has spent over a decade strengthening the organization. “They didn’t have enough money when I started. They were always in the hole. I focused on three things while I’ve been here. To do the best service possible to those we serve, we’ve got to support our staff the best way possible. To do that, we need resources, money. So by focusing on those three things, [service, staff, and resources], we’ve gotten more efficient, where we can put more money into the quality of our food and the type of food. We support our staff, I think, much more than we did when I got here for benefits, wages, just everyday support,” said Washington. She believes the new property allows the organization to significantly update its operational infrastructure, ultimately saving on recurring costs by lowering transportation expenses and better utilizing people’s time.
Halbert Construction Services will continue working on the project through November. Several delays with permitting and supply-chain disruptions have already pushed back the completion date, but Meals on Wheels People anticipates completion this Fall season.
Correction: Fixed a typo in Eastport Plaza’s name that misidentified it.
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As the Multnomah County Homeless Services Department (HSD) readies the Harrison Community Village Shelter at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue for future residents, they invite people to attend a Public Meeting on February 26th. Nonprofit provider Do Good Multnomah will operate the alternative shelter under a “clean and sober” model. Interested community members can attend the 6:30 p.m. in-person event this Thursday. Portland Community College will host the meeting in its Community Hall Annex at 7901 SE Division Street.
Shelter operators anticipate opening the facility in spring 2026 and have worked on a Good Neighbor Agreement with community and business stakeholders to lessen the impact of the Harrison Community Village Shelter on surrounding properties. Multnomah County purchased the former recreational vehicle dealership at 1818 SE 82nd Avenue in December 2022 for $2.015 million. This 34,000-square-foot parcel was the second Montavilla location the County bought that year for temporary shelter services. The other shelter, Oak Street Village at 333 SE 82nd Avenue, opened in February 2025 and is currently operating at full capacity. The Joint Office of Homeless Services — now renamed the Homeless Services Department — has held several community meetings, including one in April that announced that Do Good Multnomah would operate the site as a sober shelter. Presenters explained that residents and staff are subject to drug testing, and policy strictly prohibits the possession of non-prescribed intoxicants on the property. Selecting a sober format meets a specific need for people transitioning into stable housing who are in recovery from substance use disorder, and it better matches community desires for the site, which is near two Portland Public Schools.
HSD will contract with the operator to staff the alternative shelter site at all hours of the day. The adult residents will receive one of 38 private sleeping quarters, each with a shed-style pod design. Six converted shipping container units will provide office space for staff, participant services, hygiene facilities, kitchenette amenities, and laundry facilities. Residents and their pets will have on-site access to green space. The site will receive upgraded fencing with privacy inserts on all street sides and a wood fence between the adjacent residential property to the east. The site intends to offer more than short-term shelter. People in the program will have access to dedicated housing case management and abstinence-based recovery services to help with long-term substance use recovery and housing stability.
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TriMet will honor Rosa Parks with free rides for all passengers this Wednesday, February 4th. Transit operators will suspend fare collection on that day until 2 a.m. February 5th. Portland Streetcar and C-TRAN operators will also offer rides without cost in observation of the civil rights icon’s 113th birthday. Riders who tap a Hop card or ticket will receive confirmation of valid fare, but the automated systems won’t charge them, and ticket machines will not allow any ticket purchases on February 4th.
In 2020, TriMet’s District 5 Director Keith Edwards proposed the resolution declaring Parks’ birthday as a day of remembrance across the public transportation system. That year, TriMet adopted the fare holiday across the 533-square-mile service district to recognize Parks’ contribution to the Civil Rights Movement. 2026 is the sixth straight year TriMet has commemorated the bravery of Parks, whose name is most notably associated with the struggle to bring equity to public transportation as part of a wider racial equality movement.
Graphic courtesy TriMet
On December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks challenged Montgomery, Alabama’s segregationist city ordinance that required black Americans to give up seats in the “Colored” section of the bus for white riders when the reserved white section ran out of seats. Parks’ refusal of the bus driver’s commands to give up her seat resulted in her arrest. Her act of civil disobedience led to the year-long Montgomery bus boycott and a significant court decision that found bus segregation unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Parks suffered years of harassment for her role as a public face of the Civil Rights movement. Still, history has quickly recognized her contributions to equality through that 1955 peaceful act of defiance, and her later work, which has had a lasting impact on America’s ongoing effort to repair its racial inequities.
