A New Home for Our Next Chapter
It all started with a bag of squished bread.
In 1992, something seemingly insignificant happened that would change East County for decades to come: a donated bag of squished bread loaves showed up on the front porch of Barry and Suzanne Birch’s home. Knowing others around them were stretched, they shared that bread with single mothers and families in their neighborhood who could use the extra support.
Within weeks, other nonprofit organizations began donating surplus food for the Birches to redistribute. What started on a front porch quickly grew beyond it, as others from across the community began finding their own ways to become part of the work.
In 1996, Birch Community Services officially incorporated as a nonprofit and moved into its first dedicated space in Northeast Portland. By 2000, Birch had moved into its current facility, where it would spend the next 26 years steadily growing alongside the community it serves.
It’s Getting Tight in Here
After more than 26 years in our current facility, we’re preparing to move. We have signed a 10-year lease for a facility at 18700 NE San Rafael St., just half a mile down the road, with a 3-year option to purchase.
Tenant improvements are beginning, and we plan to call it home in the first half of 2027. This move will expand our footprint from 22,000 to 51,000 square feet, creating greater capacity for the work we are doing and the community we continue to serve.
Our current facility will remain fully operational throughout the transition, with the goal of moving seamlessly from one location to the next.
More Room for the Work Ahead
A lot has changed over the past 26 years. Within these walls, families have worked toward greater financial stability, volunteers have given their time, and donors and community partners have shared resources. Millions of pounds of food have moved through the warehouse and into our community as Birch has grown to serve thousands of families throughout the Portland Metro area.
As Birch has grown, so has the need for a facility better suited to the work happening today.
The new property offers 29,000 additional square feet, improved loading access, significantly better parking, and the ability to better separate participant shopping from warehouse staging and operations. Participants will benefit from a more welcoming shopping experience with fewer barriers, while volunteers, staff, and partners will have a more functional and efficient space for the work happening every day.
But this is about more than a building.
Our mission remains the same: to build a healthy and stable community by providing financial education, food, and nurturing accountability. Yes, food helps create breathing room in a family’s budget, but it’s the financial education and practical tools offered here that help equip participants to build toward their own unique Family Vision.
From the beginning, Birch has never simply been about making room for more food. It has been about making room for people.
A Story Built Together
Birch did not get here alone. For more than three decades, people across East County and beyond have helped shape Birch's story. Participants have worked toward their goals and strengthened the community around them. Volunteers have shown up week after week to serve. Donors and partners have shared resources, while staff and board members have helped guide Birch through seasons of growth and change.
This milestone also reflects the generosity of those who believed in what this next step could make possible. A group of early supporters committed the financial resources needed to secure the lease and begin preparing the facility for our move. Their leadership helped turn a long-held vision for Birch’s future into something tangible: a signed lease, tenant improvements underway, and a new home taking shape.
What Comes Next
The work has not stopped. In the months to come, we will prepare the building for our move and continue sharing more about what this new home will make possible for Birch and the community we serve.
But today, we are celebrating a signed lease, a future home secured, and a moment that once would have been unimaginable on a front porch in 1992.
It started with a bag of squished bread. More than three decades later, we’re preparing for our next chapter.
