[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3812]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO RACHEL BRISTOL

 Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize someone 
who has spent the last 30 years in the front ranks of the fight against 
hunger in my State.
  Rachel Bristol, president and CEO of the Oregon Food Bank, has 
devoted her life to making sure that Oregonians in need are able to put 
nutritious food on the table. She has spent every minute of every day 
of her career doing everything in her power to eliminate hunger.
  As Rachel retires, she leaves behind a legacy of determination and 
hard work that has guided the Oregon Food Bank and seen it expand into 
a professional organization that reflects her vision of what a 
community should do to help those in need.
  Last year alone, the Oregon Food Bank Network distributed more than 
81 million pounds of food. I am proud to say that I have stood beside 
the food bank's employees and volunteers and packaged my share of 
pancake mix or other food. So, I know firsthand how dedicated they are 
in making sure that no one goes to bed hungry.
  Whether we call it hunger, food insecurity or something else, what we 
are really talking about is the tragedy of having hungry families in 
the richest country in the world.
  Rachel saw that inequity and spent her life doing something about it. 
Because of that fewer people in Oregon went hungry because she gave 
them a place to go--a place to look to--for basic nutritious food to 
put on their table.
  Because of Rachel Bristol, the food bank is a better organization and 
Oregon is a better community.
  While she may be retiring, something tells me that the fight against 
hunger will always be a part of who she is.

                          ____________________