Meet our July Change for Good Recipeint!
The Ashland Food Angels aspires to help nurture and support individuals and families in the Ashland and Medford areas by freely providing food and other goods. To support the local environment by diverting usable items from a landfill destination, by retrieving and redirecting food, clothing and household goods while still usable, helping them get to the people who need them most.
The impact of the Ashland Food Angels project is counted in terms greater than just redistributing food to organizations that feed the hungry. Success of the project is also displayed in the positive impact on the lives of individuals and organizations through the interactions of Pamala Joy and her volunteers.
Here are some of their success stories:
- Through a donation by Pamala Joy of many collected golf items, the Ashland High School Girls Golf Team was able to be started.
- Donations of food to the Catalyst Program at the Ashland High School deeply touched young people who felt uncared for and inspired many students to continue attending classes where they were given free food several times weekly.
- A disabled couple were able to make it through several challenging years because of the food they received from the Food Angels in exchange for helping the program. Another disabled man, out of work and greatly discouraged, had his spirits revitalized and his self-esteem raised when he began to work with the Food Angels and created their website. In addition to eliminating his depression, the food he received helped his family through a hard time.
- For many years boxes of food were delivered to the Ashland HeadStart for the families there. In addition to the free food, parents were taught how to best use the produce they received. Boxes of toys were also delivered.
- The Rogue Valley Boys and Girls Club receives many boxes of toys throughout the year, collected by Pamala and the Angels.
- Until 1996 Uncle Food's Diner had little to no fresh produce, only frozen leftovers from SOU. Pamala Joy began a weekly delivery of usable produce which continued from that year to the present time.
- The Ashland Food Bank only distributed non-perishable food (boxes and cans) until the late 1990's when they began accepting fresh produce from the Food Angels, at Pamala's request. Over the years this has developed into a wide-ranging produce section which is now sourced from several locations. The Food Angels have continued to donate thousands of pounds of produce weekly to the Food Bank.
- For many years camps for Native American youth and elders, which had no food budge, were provided with food by the Food Angels.
- With the encouragement and help of Pamala Joy and other Food Angels, the newly opened Market of Choice went from having no recycling program to an active involvement of keeping things from the landfill.
- In 2026 with the knowledge that the Phoenix and Talent Food Banks had too little produce to serve their clients, the Food Angels redirected their collected food on a weekly basis to those food banks, helping dozens of people to have healthier food in their lives.
- On the first day Grocery Outlet opened in South Ashland, Pamala Joy contacted the managers and the store became an active partner with the Food Angels, providing hundreds of pounds of food to the program on a daily basis, increasing the amount which was able to be sent to the various food banks.
- Food Angels were recognized by the Ashland Food Bank recently with a certificate for donating over 120,000 pounds of food to them in 2025. We also donate to Uncle Foods, the Jackson County Fuel Committee, the Ashland Shelter, the Phoenix Food Bank, the two Talent food banks, and the Hawthorne Park group in Medford which feeds the homeless.
The Ashland Food Co-op is proud to support and uplift the voices behind this very worthy cause. The Food Angels also visit the Co-op nightly to collect fresh produce that would not have made it onto the grocery shelves; proving again that a thriving, caring, zero-waste community is possible. May all who are hungry be fed.
For more information, or to support AFA, please visit www.ashlandfoodangels.org
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