February 2, 2021 10:50 a.m.

For the past several years, Feeding Umpqua has partnered with local restaurants to help support their mission to fight hunger and feed hope.

Director Sarah McGregor said with the pandemic last year, their Empty Bowls dinner in October was canceled. This month, instead of having their grilled cheese competition “Cheese and Thank You”, they decided to give back to their partners instead.

McGregor said “We have been so grateful for the support of these chefs and restaurants. Things are tough for our restaurant partners right now and we wanted to do something to help”.

McGregor said throughout the month, community members are invited to share the ways they are supporting Feeding Umpqua’s restaurant partners by supporting in their social media campaign, “Say Cheese and Thank You”. She said whenever residents visit any “Cheese and Thank You” or “Empty Bowls” partner and snap a picture of the visit, they should post it on their Facebook or Instagram account. Tag it with @feedingumpqua, the name of the partner visited and use #cheeseandthanks21 for the entry to be counted. A complete list of restaurant partners is on the Feeding Umpqua Facebook page.

McGregor said weekly prizes will be given away and a grand prize will be given out at the end of March.

Contact Feeding Umpqua, a program of the United Community Action Network, for more information.