The Life Raft Pantry Feeds Nearly 600 People Monthly With Help From Wasco Electric Cooperative (WEC) Members & Volunteers
No one should have to choose between buying groceries and prescriptions.
Yet, for senior patients walking through the doors of Deschutes Rim Health Clinic in Maupin in early 2020, that seemingly unthinkable choice was routine. Some seniors hadn’t eaten in 18 to 24 hours. Instead, they chose pills over meals because their fixed incomes couldn’t stretch to cover the costs of both.
Dr. Cheryl LaPlante and medical assistant Corina Morin heard the same story repeatedly from their patients. For them, the solution seemed clear. Their community needed a food pantry.
What began as a desperate response to help senior citizens eat evolved into The Life Raft Pantry, a nonprofit serving an average of 139 families and 595 individuals across South Wasco County each month. The pantry’s name captures its essential mission: providing emergency support when people need it most and serving as a needed lifeline in difficult times.
Frank Roeder, a Wasco Electric Cooperative lineworker and The Life Raft Pantry board member, understands that connection intimately. After nearly 29 years serving the electrical needs of South Wasco County, he’s seen plenty of WEC members struggle through difficult times.
“LRFP is here to assist them with their food needs,” he says.
From Clinic to Community
Cheryl and Corina went into action in early 2020, contacting Columbia Gorge Food Bank to form a partnership. The new pact laid the groundwork for the food bank to deliver food to the clinic. From there, the 2 women distributed food to patients and community members in need.
The clinic administration supported the effort but couldn’t sponsor or partner with a food pantry. The facility needed to focus solely on medical assistance. Cheryl and Corina needed a new distribution location.
The city of Maupin offered access to the community building in the RV park, which worked for distributing food but lacked crucial infrastructure. Without freezers or refrigeration, perishable items couldn’t be stored between distribution days, limiting the variety of food available.
In May 2020, the pantry found its permanent home at 401 Fifth Street in Maupin after volunteer Jennifer Schmitz secured a $10,000 grant from Google. The grant permitted the pantry to pay 1 year’s rent, buy 1 refrigerator-freezer combo, and 3 additional freezers. The grant funds also allowed the pantry to buy a computer and office supplies. A local resident donated shelves for the facility. In June 2020, Maupin residents Ralph and Tamara Wimmer paid the city for 1 year of utilities.
By 2021, both founders had moved on. The pantry transitioned to new management and, in November 2022, became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Building Sustainable Support
In 2024, the pantry launched 1 of its most successful efforts. A fundraiser dubbed the Food2Buy program collects refundable bottles and cans from South County residents to buy food for the pantry. In 2024, the program processed $7,890 in food. In 2025, that total jumped to $10,357.
The initiative operates through the Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative’s giving program for nonprofits. Volunteers transport up to 50 bags per trip to Redmond for processing, at no cost to the pantry. The fundraiser continues in 2026, providing a steady stream of revenue to buy staples no longer available through its food bank partnerships.
“The largest challenge we face is that the majority of the food we provide is actually purchased by the pantry, which requires volunteers to travel depending on where the food is available,” Frank says.
Funding comes from multiple sources, including donations, fundraisers, auctions, recyclables, and grants from Google, Roundhouse Foundation, and New Sun Energy.
The pantry’s greatest needs are finding more funding, recruiting more volunteers, attracting broader community involvement, and building a network of backyard farmers who can contribute fresh produce.
Frank became involved after WEC’s general manager mentioned the pantry was looking to fill a new board position and suggested Frank might be a good fit. He attended a board meeting to understand the operation and quickly made a connection.
“I realized the impact that the food pantry was having on the local communities,” Frank says. “The communities they are impacting are the same communities that I serve for WEC.”
The WEC Connection
That overlap between WEC’s service territory and the pantry’s reach isn’t coincidental. Lineworkers like Frank are often in regular contact with members facing tough times.
“WEC serves electricity to the majority of South Wasco County, and in doing so are oftentimes aware of those that are facing hardships in their lives,” Frank says.
WEC employees can donate directly from their paychecks to local food pantries, creating a noticeable and appreciated contribution to The Life Raft Pantry. Most volunteers and contributors are WEC members, though an increasing number of individuals and businesses from outside the area donate.
Serving Anyone Who Comes
Officially, the pantry serves all of South Wasco County, but anyone who walks through the doors receives help, regardless of their county or state of residence.
The pantry plays a key role in connecting people with local health services of all types and provides emergency services when needed. The board organizes operations through sign-up sheets for each day the pantry is open, with volunteers filling 2-hour shifts every Thursday. Board members supervise the nonprofit, craft policies, and work shifts when needed. Volunteer freight drivers make regular trips to The Dalles to pick up food bank deliveries.
The pantry has ambitious plans. An Empty Bowls fundraiser is set for April 4 at South County High School cafeteria, raising money for Food2Buy and the pantry’s 5 and 10-year goals. The pantry will also participate in the Maupin Days Parade and conduct its third annual silent auction in Kieser Park.
The 5-year goal focuses on boosting community awareness and constructing partnerships with the school district and South Wasco Alliance. The pantry plans to move donation funds into certificates of deposit to buy a plot of land where a community garden will be established to grow food for distribution.
The 10-year vision is even bolder: build a food distribution building on that same land, continue growing food, and operate the nonprofit from the new facility. Plans include a commercial kitchen for pantry and community use.
For Frank, the pantry represents more than boxes of food or volunteer hours. It’s about neighbors helping neighbors in a rural community where people understand hardship and take care of their own.
“Community members can support the pantry’s work by volunteering, donating, supporting fundraisers, backyard farming, and letting their neighbors know that we are here,” Frank says.