Don’t forget the Northeast Oregon Regional Food Bank. The written piece, what is called a brief at some newspapers, was short and quick: The Northeast Oregon Regional Food Bank is accepting fresh produce from the local area to distribute to those in need. Donations can be coordinated by calling the food bank at 541-663-4551.

Short and to the point.

Yet the small written piece is a reminder that winter is coming — and, with it, the holiday season — and the need for food in our community isn’t going to go away anytime soon.

That means food banks and pantries, such as the Northeast Oregon Regional Food Bank, are going to need a helping hand from the public in terms of donations and, perhaps most of all, volunteers.

The food bank, of course, receives food deliveries from the state food bank on a regular basis, but when the need continues to rise it can use all the help it can get from the community.

Every year on this page and in this space, we make it a point to let residents and readers know that the local food bank needs assistance in terms of donations and help.

We do that for a specific reason: The plight of those who are food insecure in our community, our state and our nation cannot slip off the collective radar of our modern-day existence.

The reality is no one in the United States should go hungry, but millions do on a daily basis. There are so many factors tied into hunger in the nation that it is difficult to subscribe to any one cause.

Still, the need doesn’t go away and that is why it is important that residents of Northeastern Oregon remember organizations like the food bank and find a way to help out.

Food donations are probably welcome but such organizations as the Northeast Oregon Regional Food Bank can always use more people, more hands-on-deck if you will, to volunteer their time.

That’s not an easy task, and we realize that fact, but if you can find some time to donate an organization like the food bank, we encourage you to do so.