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DCF and MountainStar call attention to growing strain on safety net as thousands of children and families face food insecurity
Deschutes Children’s Foundation (DCF) and MountainStar Family Relief Nursery (MountainStar) are sounding the alarm as families across Central Oregon begin to feel the effects of increasing barriers to accessing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits — including delays, reductions, and disrupted eligibility. Both organizations warn that thousands of children and caregivers will experience immediate hardship if benefit instability continues.
“Families are already telling us they are being forced to choose between food, rent, medicine, or gas, and SNAP has made the difference between stability and crisis,” said Cassi MacQueen, Executive Director of DCF. “Nonprofits are stepping up every day, but we cannot replace SNAP. Cuts or delays to this program don’t just hurt budgets, they create trauma for children.”
SNAP is widely considered the most critical anti-hunger program in the nation. In Central Oregon, it’s also deeply intertwined with child welfare, health stability, and economic resilience. When SNAP fails, the entire nonprofit network absorbs the shock.
“We are already seeing families missing meals, skipping essentials, or delaying health care because they simply cannot stretch support far enough,” said Kara Tachikawa, Executive Director of MountainStar. “Families in crisis don’t have a margin. SNAP helps prevent abuse, neglect, and homelessness before they begin — it is a frontline child safety tool, not just a food benefit.”
While nonprofits like DCF and MountainStar are committed to supporting families through crises, it’s important to be clear, nonprofits cannot replace SNAP or fill the gap when essential benefits are reduced, delayed, or denied. Nonprofits can stabilize, prevent deeper harm, and respond quickly, but federal nutrition programs are the foundation that keep families from falling into hunger, homelessness, or child welfare involvement in the first place.
“This is not about politics. It is about protecting children and stabilizing families before harm occurs,” said MacQueen. “DCF and MountainStar remain fully committed to serving this community, but we must name the truth: SNAP is essential, and Central Oregon cannot afford to let it fail.”
