Investment and Innovation grants are intended to build lasting private-sector and nonprofit-sector capacity to reduce waste through prevention, reuse, repair, recycling and composting. At the same time, the grants support efforts to advance racial equity in the garbage and recycling system, including expanding services and employment opportunities for underserved communities and reducing harms from garbage and recycling operations. The Investment and Innovation program advances progress toward multiple goals of the 2030 Regional Waste Plan and Metro’s strategic plan to advance racial equity, diversity and inclusion.
Capital grants are awarded to private businesses, universities, and nonprofit organizations for infrastructure upgrades and equipment. Businesses and universities are required to provide a match of at least 100 percent of the grant amount.
Seven capital projects received funding from Metro’s Investment and Innovation program in 2021-22, for a total Metro investment of $946,721, which will leverage an additional $554,500 in matching funds provided by the two business grant recipients.
The 2021-22 Investment and Innovation capital grant recipients are:
Birch Community Services
Refrigerated truck to rescue and redistribute 6.5 million pounds of edible food annually
Grant amount: $102,221
Match amount: $0 (not required for nonprofit organizations)
Total investment: $102,221
Birch Community Services will purchase a refrigerated truck to rescue and redistribute 6.5 million pounds of high-quality edible food annually. Birch sources food from over 270 manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, farms, dairies, bakeries and food growers to recover food that would otherwise be disposed, to distribute to families in need. Currently, Birch passes up significant opportunities to rescue and distribute food due to aging and insufficient transportation options. Having a new refrigerated truck will enable Birch to quickly pick up large quantities of edible food from donors, which in turn bolsters those donors’ willingness to donate rather than dispose.
Community Development Corporation of Oregon
A network of portable coolers for BIPOC farmers
Grant amount: $50,000
Match amount: $0 (not required for nonprofit organizations)
Total investment: $50,000
Community Development Corporation of Oregon will buy three portable coolers to place at strategic locations around East County where food is being grown by Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) farmers. Having these coolers shared by a network of producers will bring food closer to consumers. The coolers will extend the life of their crops, allowing food to remain edible from harvest to sale or donation. This will ensure that the food reaches its highest value, providing economic benefit for BIPOC farmers to feed their communities with culturally appropriate foods. The grant fortifies the micro food hub model developing in Rockwood and East Multnomah County, including the Rockwood Food Systems Collaborative, which includes more than 50 emerging food businesses in an underserved area of the Metro region.
Dirt Hugger, LLC
Generating more compost with fewer emissions
Grant amount: $500,000
Match amount: $500,000
Total investment: $1,000,000
Dirt Hugger, located in Dallesport, Wash., is a commercial composting facility that processes a significant amount of greater Portland’s residential and commercial food waste and yard debris through a designated facility agreement (68 percent of their feedstock comes from the Metro region). Over half of the facility’s end products — high quality compost — is sold in the Metro region. This project will increase throughput from 62,700 to 90,000 tons annually while reducing air emissions by adding aeration to the final phase of the composting process. The grant will also support conversion of diesel-powered equipment to electric. These improvements will ensure Metro area waste does not contribute to negative air quality impacts on local communities. Dirt Hugger will work with The Next Door, a social services agency based in the Columbia Gorge, to advance equity in the business by completing a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) assessment of the company’s policies, procedures, work culture and physical environment, and a series of DEI workshops for staff. The project will include development of DEI goals for at least the two years after the grant period to ensure the company’s commitment to advancing equity continues beyond the grant.
Lovett Deconstruction
Lumber resale project
Grant amount: $54,500
Match amount: $54,500
Total investment: $109,000
Lovett Deconstruction will add an electric kiln and warehouse improvements to its new facility in northwest Portland. A wood kiln will significantly reduce the amount of mold and moisture on stored materials. Typical Pacific Northwest weather can compromise the quality and reusability of collected lumber by as much as 20 percent. Lovett Deconstruction is the only company in Portland that will offer Forest Stewardship Council-certified kiln dried lumber in large quantities. Lovett Deconstruction has a strong track record with regard to inclusivity, diversity and inclusion, and employs over 50 people of diverse backgrounds. The company partners with Oregon Tradeswomen to support hiring and training of BIPOC and women employees.
ReBuilding Center
A mobile classroom to bring home-repair classes to vulnerable communities
Grant amount: $90,000
Match amount: $0 (not required for nonprofit organizations)
Total investment: $90,000
ReBuilding Center helps people stay in their homes and avoid waste by promoting and teaching repair skills, particularly for homeowners living with low incomes. Often homeowners with low incomes have many small repair needs, like a minor leak or failing siding, that worsen over time and result in houses with extensive, expensive repairs and safety concerns. The nonprofit’s philosophy is that empowering homeowners with repair skills and knowledge of how to use salvaged items will promote housing retention and stability. ReBuilding Center has a rich roster of classes in electrical repair, plumbing and carpentry at little to no cost, and focuses these opportunities to BIPOC and low income residents of Portland. However, limited access to transportation makes traveling to inner North Portland to attend classes difficult. This grant will remove this barrier by developing a mobile shop to take ReBuilding Center classes out into the community. Funds will support a new all-electric van, tools, shelves, storage, and a level-2 charging station, to enable the organization to get out into more underserved parts of the Metro region, in collaboration with community partner organizations.
SnowCap Community Charities
SnowCap’s Covenant Campus to increase clothing reuse for underserved communities
Grant amount: $100,000
Match amount: $0 (not required for nonprofit organizations)
Total investment: $100,000
SnowCap operates in East Multnomah County, providing the community with free reused clothing five days a week. In 2021 SnowCap served people who spoke 75 different languages, 46 percent of which were people of color, refugees or ethnic minorities. Pre-pandemic, over 4,000 people a month had access to free clothing. This grant will support SnowCap’s ambitious campaign for a new campus to greatly expand its capacity to receive, sort and distribute reused clothing. SnowCap believes individuals accessing assistance should be able to do so in a manner that focuses on choice. Being able to select one’s own clothing helps bring dignity to the process and encourages people to continue to access needed services. In addition to growing SnowCap’s clothing program, the new campus will enable them to offer space to partner agencies, like the Energy Trust of Oregon and the Oregon Food Bank. Partners will be able to conduct trainings and classes for clients, focusing on topics that help prevent waste such as cloth diapering, and low waste cooking and food preparation techniques.
West Tuality Habitat for Humanity
Construct a covered outside area to promote year-round shopping for reused items
Grant amount: $50,000
Match amount: $0 (not required for nonprofit organizations)
Total investment: $50,000
West Tuality Habitat for Humanity in Forest Grove is one of the few reuse organizations serving the western part of the greater Portland region. This grant will enable the organization to create a covered area outside where people can shop for high quality reused items year-round. The current area is not accessible in rainy or hot weather. Providing a cover will promote year-round activity, building sales and keep more goods from the landfill. The cover will also help prolong the usable lifespan of products stored and sold from the outside area. The anticipated waste stream impact of the covered area is an annual increase of 50,000 to 100,000 pounds of additional goods being repurposed, reused or recycled via Habitat for Humanity’s Restore retail shop. The project will demonstrate the merits of reuse by utilizing a large portion of materials salvaged from other construction projects, including an entire garage and large quantities of timber and shiplap.