By Josiah Esch, BVS Unit 338
I started my year of volunteering at SnowCap Community Services on September 22, 2025. Less than a week later, on September 27, the president announced plans to send the National Guard into Portland in order to “protect [federal immigration (ICE) facilities] in war ravaged Portland.” This brought heightened attention to the (very much not “war ravaged”) city and started a legal battle that has continued up to the writing of this piece. ICE’s presence in Oregon and the greater Portland area has also increased in the months since I arrived. A few days after the National Guard announcement, on October 1, the federal government shut down. This resulted in several consequences, including the expiration of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on November 1, leaving millions across the country without reliable access to food. SnowCap, as a food and clothing pantry, serves hundreds of clients daily from all backgrounds, ethnicities, household sizes, and locations across Portland. Basically, within a month of my arrival, the organization found itself at the center of two of the biggest political stories in the country.
Awareness and discussion around these issues have been constant and unavoidable parts of my time at SnowCap. Most of SnowCap’s clients use SNAP regularly, and SnowCap saw record numbers of households and individuals served between October 22 and mid-November, when the state of Oregon announced that they would step in and partially fund SNAP for their constituents. The shutdown ended a few days later, but over those couple of weeks, SnowCap broke the record for ‘households served’ five times and consistently served over one thousand individuals daily, up hundreds from August.
We also regularly began to hear from clients who were scared to come in person to the pantry due to ICE’s increased presence in the community. As well as targeting local elementary schools, shopping centers, and government buildings, ICE has been intentionally targeting certain food pantries in Portland and detaining people who are waiting in line to feed their families. I personally hear updates and stories from community members who I talk to at the window that express general anxiety about ICE’s presence in the community and in particular about ICE’s alarming tactics and inordinate use of force. ICE’s vehicles have been spotted overnight in SnowCap’s parking lot, and just last week almost entered the property during service hours before being deterred by the incessant honking of a conscientious volunteer. I and most of my coworkers, while glad to have avoided a confrontation up to the time of this writing, do see such an event as inevitable.
Despite all the above concerns, my time serving at SnowCap through BVS has been incredible and truly special. I have enjoyed exploring Portland on the weekends and have found my work in the food pantry to be exactly what I was hoping for this year. My job is taking the orders of clients at the front window, asking if they need pet food and toiletries, and making sure that we’re helping as much as we can before handing the order to the pantry. I love the varied days, and interacting directly with the clients helps me to see firsthand the difference being made.
SnowCap is a wonderful organization and every single staff member and volunteer I’ve met has been so totally and completely dedicated toward helping the community in whatever ways they can. Thanksgiving week also nearly broke records and while we were thankful the need wasn’t as great as earlier in the month, the holiday season is usually the busiest time of the year, and that was definitely evident in the days leading up to the holiday. It has been wonderful to see the community step up to meet the growing need. Donations to the pantry have increased almost as much as distribution has. People are giving more than ever and volunteering more than ever and reaching out to SnowCap to make sure that they’re donating exactly the things we’re looking for.
Though the world certainly seems chaotic currently, even these few months in Portland and at SnowCap have given me hope and shown me the sheer incredible number of people who are working toward making a more just world where everybody looks out for their community and everyone has enough.