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Now serving Malheur and Wallowa counties: OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Community Partnership Program

The program now funds cancer-related community projects in all 36 Oregon counties
Community Partnership Program
Ramona Faris (left) picks up her CSA share with her granddaughters Ryannah Thilavan, 6, (center) and Sokhonna Hiet, 6, at the Mid-County Health Center in Portland, October 5, 2016. Through a grant from the Knight Cancer Institute's Community Partnerships Program, Zenger Farm is helping families battling diet related disease, including cancer. (OHSU/Kristyna Wentz-Graff)

The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute has reached a milestone with its Community Partnership Program. The program now funds projects impacting Oregonians in every county across the state.

Kerri Winters-Stone, Ph.D.
Kerri Winters-Stone, Ph.D., F.A.C.S.M., co-director of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Community Partnership Program.(OHSU)

“Reaching the important milestone of providing funding to address cancer across the entire state is incredibly gratifying,” said Kerri Winters-Stone, Ph.D., co-director of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Community Partnership Program. “We’re proud to see the program providing support to address a wide variety of cancer-related concerns, and now, to people across the entire state.”

Since October 2014, the program has helped communities conduct cancer-related projects targeting a diverse range of cancer types and demographics. The Community Partnership Program offers multiple tiers of funding to support local organizations in identifying and developing tools to address a local cancer-related need.

Organizations receiving grants in this funding cycle include:

  • Ashland Family YMCA, Ashland, OR
  • Josephine County Foundation, Murphy, OR
  • Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, Portland, OR
  • American Cancer Society, Portland, OR*
  • Crook County Health Department, Prineville, OR*
  • Northeast Oregon Network, La Grande, OR (this grant provides resources for Malheur and Wallowa counties)
  • Oregon State University, Health Promotion and Health Behavior, Corvallis OR
  • Tillamook Regional Medical Center, Tillamook, OR*
  • Uriel Medical Foundation, Bend, OR
  • Klamath Tribal Health & Family Services, Klamath Falls, OR
  • Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center and Foundation, Cornelius, OR
  • Zenger Farm, Portland, OR**
Community Partnership Program
Zenger Farm interns Lyndsay Jacobs (left) and Frankie Howell box harvest peppers on the farm, October 5, 2016. Zenger Farm, a previous grantee, has received funding again this cycle to continue their CSA program. (OHSU/Kristyna Wentz-Graff)

Zenger Farm, a previous grantee receiving funding again this cycle, aims to provide fresh fruit and vegetables for patients with cancer and chronic disease. Patrons of Zenger Farm participate in this program through the Mid-County Prescription Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Pilot in Multnomah County. The program is designed to test the effectiveness and feasibility of using a CSA model to increase patients’ consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. In large research studies, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables has been linked to lower risk of certain cancers.

“The food system and the health system have so much to gain from working together, but right now they are behaving like independent systems,” said Mike Wenrick, executive director of Zenger Farm. “We really believe that through this program we can improve population health, we can drive health care investment into our local food systems and hopefully we can save the healthcare industry money through the billions of dollars they are losing every year on diet-related chronic disease.”

Organizations with funded projects are connected with a variety of additional resources, including nationally based training designed to increase their capacity and knowledge for implementing evidence-based programs, networking opportunities with other organizations, and potential partners and consultation on program evaluation.

Learn more about the projects funded.

*Previously funded Tier 1 project, refunded as a Tier 2
**Refunded Tier 3 project

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