Portland Pay It Forward is a food pantry with a passion for its community.
Portland Pay It Forward, of Portland TN, opened its doors in 2017 with a commitment to help those in our community who struggle with their most basic needs. What started as a simple food pantry has grown into something much bigger thanks to the great support of our local residents and businesses.
As we wrap up 2023, in addition to providing meals to over 370 families every other week, we also provided hygiene products, baby and elder care supplies, and continued to host a Facebook page where residents can request and/or offer free items to each other. In addition, local businesses and schools have held toy, canned food, and winter coat drives allowing Portland Pay It Forward to pass out these items to those in need.
In short, our desire is to reduce food insecurity and help our Portland residents! Thankfully, we are able to provide needed aid due to the generous support and donations from our Portland residents, businesses, churches, schools, and so many others.
So, thank you Portland, TN—YOU ROCK!
Ashley Anderson, Executive Director, helping to unload food after a recent pickup.
Executive Director
I moved to Portland in 1999 to raise my children in a small town. I sat idle for many years with dreams of making a difference. Portland Pay It Forward (PPIF) landed in my lap in 2018. At first, I worked with churches to get a few donations and then used my own money to buy groceries and basic items of need for fellow community members. A local business started giving us bread, and PPIF went from serving 5 families to becoming a food pantry serving an average of 370 families through our biweekly food giveaways.
My inspiration comes from the love and passion my mother felt for others. She taught me compassion, love, and most of all, forgiveness. She passed in 2019, but I still strive to make her proud. My life experiences have taught me what it’s like to be in need. I’ve felt the helplessness and despair of not knowing how I was going to feed my kids, or to feed them and go hungry myself.
My overall goal for PPIF is to see the sense of community return to Portland, and for it to grow stronger, by taking care of those around me, regardless of race, age, religion, or income bracket. There is strength in numbers. There is strength in community. There can be strength in Portland, TN!
Ashley Anderson
Ashley Anderson, Executive Director at Portland Pay It Forward in Portland, TN.