The Best Idea There Ever Was

At a delightful houseparty last night, hosted by Carol McCreary and owner Kaebel Hashitami at the Sequential Art Gallery in the Pearl District, we were discussing the need to share information between community groups — especially when someone has implemented a really good, innovative project that works. “When someone comes up with The Best Idea There Ever Was, everyone should know about it”, Carol said.

To which I replied, “Hey, that could be a new running feature on my blog, both now and next year, to go along with Next Up At City Council. The Best Idea There Ever Was – the next great solution generated in Portland’s neighborhoods and business districts!”

And thus a star is born. A star a week, in fact, like Next Up at City Council – if you all pitch in. Because the Next Best Idea There Ever Was is that I get you, my readers, to send me items to post over the next five weeks, when I am, ahem, busy with other things.

The title is a tad misleading, because we’re not talking about a theoretical concept that may or may not work out. I want to report on projects that have already been tried, and turned out splendidly, so much that others might want to try them, too. Readers?

To get you started, here’s the example I gave at the houseparty. Earlier Friday, on my way back from talking with Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson in Gresham, I stopped by Portland Adventist Community Services on NE Halsey at 110th. I was dropping off one of Steve’s framed photographs, to donate to their upcoming Silent Auction and fundraiser dinner. Tim Zollbrecht, Thrift Store Manager, who I know from the Gateway Area Business Association (GABA) monthly lunches, gave me an impromptu tour of their facilities. They have a nice new gifts store as well as the gently-used merchandise, and a very impressive health clinic offering free care to neighbors needing it. Case Coordinator Barbara Maddox and I had a mutually-appreciated conversation filled with enough medical acronyms to make a layperson’s head spin. PACS hopes to move its current clinic with only two examination rooms to a larger facility nearby, if capital costs can be raised. The clinic’s operations are funded by donations, grants, store sales, and significant support from Portland Adventist Hospital.

But wait, there’s more. For today’s Best Idea There Ever Was:

In the PACS food bank, they don’t pack up supplies and hand the boxes out at the back of the warehouse by the loading dock. As Tim explained, “Jesus wouldn’t meet people at the back door and hand them a box of stuff without asking what they need most.” Instead, at PACS the supplies of food and associated products like napkins are arranged on shelves like at a regular grocery store. Clients are greeted and given a shopping cart and a list – printed in English, Spanish, Russian, or Vietnamese. The list tells how much of each of the food groups the person may select per visit, for instance, $4-worth of carbohydrates such as bread or pasta, $4-worth of vegetables, an allowance for protein and for dairy. The dollar amount (a credit per visit, not given or paid back in cash) is based on the person’s family size, intake staff having previously verified income status and need. The Food Pyramid is shown at the bottom of the grocery allowance list, with illustrations for those not reading words well.

With this method, customers are taught about the food groups and healthy meal planning. They get to select the products their family likes – pinto beans or black beans, for example. There is no waste, since nobody is given something they don’t know how to cook or already have at home. And, as Tim said, everyone is treated with dignity and respect, giving them choices where otherwise they would have none.

Portland Adventist Community Services works in partnership with the Oregon Food Bank, as its largest neighborhood-based distribution outlet. PACS invented this grocery-store approach. It is becoming a national model.

The Best Idea There Ever Was? You have to admit, it’s good. Send me your suggestion for one that thrills you.