Author Topic: Portland police forced to guard grocery store dumpsters  (Read 299 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Dark Powers

  • Probationary (Probie)
  • Posts: 37
  • Reputation: +5/-0
Portland police forced to guard grocery store dumpsters
« on: February 18, 2021, 09:30:12 AM »
https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2021/02/fraught-scene-over-discarded-food-at-fred-meyer-highlights-hunger-challenges-of-distribution-in-storm.html

But icy conditions in Portland prevented food pantries from getting trucks to the store to pick up the load in time, Fred Meyer spokesperson Jeffery Temple said Wednesday. Two food pantries confirmed that they wouldn’t have been able to pick up the food.

The food sat unrefrigerated as the power outage dragged on at the store in Northeast Portland, prompting employees to toss out boxes of packaged meat, cheese and juice, whole turkeys, racks of ribs and other items they feared had spoiled.

The mound of discarded food in two large dumpsters attracted a crowd of 15 to 50 people at times who started taking some of it. Employees called police when they felt the scene got tense. Activists said police were “guarding” the food. Police said they were responding to “restore order.” National media picked up the story.

The escalation highlighted intense food insecurity faced by many during the pandemic as well as a food distribution system stymied by the unprecedented loss of electricity to more than 300,000 customers around the region hit by days of ice and snow.

At least one other area grocer also reported having to throw out food because of the power outages.

<...>

Over a few hours Tuesday afternoon, people gathered at the Hollywood store’s dumpsters to collect the discarded food. Police said they arrived when store employees called them after trying to prevent people from sorting through the pile. The employees were worried that a physical confrontation would break out, police said in a statement.

Morgan Mckniff, a prominent activist and outspoken Portland police critic who lives in the neighborhood, said workers were guarding the dumpsters and then police moved in. Another well-known activist, Juniper Simonis, arrived to document the police presence and said people were threatened with arrest for trespassing. Simonis said the food appeared to be in good condition.


Offline beefeater

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1312
  • Reputation: +115/-48
Re: Portland police forced to guard grocery store dumpsters
« Reply #1 on: February 18, 2021, 11:25:12 AM »
Quote
as well as a food distribution system stymied by the unprecedented loss of electricity to more than 300,000 customers around the region hit by days of ice and snow.

Just wait until they plug in all of them 'Lectric cars and trucks.

Someone needs to invent a source of easily distributed, portable, and affordable power. Something that could be carried in a vehicle and replaced as needed from a network of stations.

I wonder what that would look like.
My Old Man was a Chicago Republican until the day he died.

Then he became a democrat.