EPA-560-F-08-305 brownfields October 2008

at-a-glance

Coastal Range Food Bank, Inc., OR 

COASTAL RANGE FOOD BANK Cleanup Grant 

ADDRESS: 11663 Nashville Road, Blodgett, OR 97326 

PROPERTY SIZE: 0.54 acres 

FORMER USEs: Nashville Store, Gas Station, and Post Office 

CURRENT USE: Food Bank Operations Center and Thrift Store 

EPA GRANT RECIPIENT: PROJECT PARTNERS: 

Coastal Range Food Bank, Inc. 

received a $100,000 EPA Brownfields 

Cleanup grant in 2004. 

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality 

(DEQ); Oregon Economic and Community 

Development Department; Green and White 

Rock Products, Inc. For additional data and geographic information for this and other 

Brownfields Grants, please visit EPA’s: 

Former Post Office in Blodgett Delivering Hope to Local Residents 

Envirofacts - www.epa.gov/enviro/html/bms/bms_query.html 

Enviromapper - www.epa.gov/enviro/bf 

PROJECT BACKGROUND: 

The 0.54 acre property once housed an old-time general store that sold meat, milk, bread and other staples, and served as the local 

gathering place for children to purchase ice cream. Located in a logging community, the store offered oil, chainsaw chains, spark plugs 

and other necessities to loggers. The store had an outside island with two gasoline pumps and an outbuilding for dairy production. 

It also maintained a separate room for use as a US Post Office. The property was abandoned following foreclosure in the 1970s and 

remained abandoned for more than 23 years. In 2004, Coastal Range Food Bank, Inc. received a $100,000 EPA Brownfields Cleanup 

grant for the property. Coastal Range Food Bank, Inc. used its Brownfields grant to remove two substandard underground storage 

tanks and associated piping, excavate approximately 100 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, and install ground water monitoring 

wells. This cleanup allowed Coastal Range Food Bank, Inc. to convert the site into a food bank and thrift store in order to serve the 

sparsely populated nearby forest communities, which experience a disproportionately high poverty rate. 

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 

• Created a plan to redevelop the general store and gas station into a food bank 

and thrift store. 

• Removed 100 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil; removed two underground 

storage tanks and piping; and installed ground water monitoring wells. 

• Leveraged nearly $25,000 toward cleanup and redevelopment efforts. 

• Provided a needed food and clothing service to the surrounding community. 

OUTCOME: 

This former brownfields site has new life as the Coastal Range Food Bank which, 

unlike most food banks that distribute only boxed food allotments, provides the 

same services as a regular market and serves more than 400 people monthly. Shelves 

are stocked with food, and clients are able to browse the aisles with shopping carts to choose the items that best suit their needs. 

Clothing for babies, children, men and women is available in the Unique Boutique Thrift Store and there is no charge for any of the 

food or clothing offered. The grantee leveraged nearly $25,000 for cleanup and redevelopment from the state of Oregon and local 

business, and provides a much needed service to the surrounding logging community. As a result of public meetings held to fulfill 

the EPA Brownfields grant requirement, the community began a positive dialogue with the Toledo, Oregon Fire Chief toward the 

development of a local volunteer fire department on a portion of the unused land. In addition to community safety, the presence of a 

local fire department will make prospective homebuyers eligible for homeowners’ insurance, allowing them to finance the purchase of 

a home. This will provide a potential boost to the local economy, as well as attract and retain younger residents to the area who often 

cannot finance the purchase of a home independently. 

The Coastal Range Food Bank, open for business. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ or call EPA Region 10 at (800) 424-4372