Blanchet House

The Blanchet House, established in 1952, is located at 340 NW Glisan in the Old Town/Chinatown area of Portland.  Although named after the first Archbishop of Oregon, it is not an agency of the Catholic Church.  Operations at Blanchet have stayed at the same location for the last 57 years.  The building itself is over 100 years old.

The Blanchet House building has three floors and a basement.  The basement is used for food storage.  The main floor is the kitchen and eating area for about 40 people.  The second and third floors are used for housing.  There are rooms and beds for about 30 men on these two floors.  There is also a library on the second floor.

Blanchet House is supervised by the House Manager, Pat Daley.  The staff lives in the rooms upstairs.  They are either recruited from the food line or are referred to the House by outside agencies.  All of the staff are in recovery from alcohol or drugs.  Most stay in the facility for three to six months and are monitored consistently.  The staff perform all the daily tasks involved in the House’s operations, thus contributing to their own self-esteem and developing a community spirit.

Blanchet House serves 600 to 900 meals per day.  Based on the findings of Oregon Food Bank, the House is the largest provider of its type in the Portland area. Generally, three meals are served six days a week.  The people in the meal line are treated as welcomed guests.  They are seated at tables and then served.

Another important aspect of the Blanchet House is the large number of people who volunteer throughout the year.  About 4,000 people from the community, of all ages, volunteer on an annual basis.  This includes over 1,000 high school students from the metropolitan area.  The Blanchet House relies on these volunteers, who work directly with the staff, in order to effectively operate.  For more information on how to volunteer see the volunteer section.

A significant amount of the food used at the Blanchet House is donated or comes from the Blanchet Farm.  Many people drop off food that they are not going to use.  Blanchet’s most significant food source is Urban Gleaners, a valued partner of Blanchet.  Located in NW Portland, several Urban Gleaners volunteers collect food from stores and restaurants in the Portland area.  Food is then dropped off at Blanchet on a daily basis.  Food that Blanchet does not need is then taken to other local food service agencies.  To view more about Urban Gleaners click on the video below.  To learn more about donating food and clothing contact Blanchet House at 503-226-3911 or write us a note in the “Contact” section.

Over the past 57 years Blanchet House has served over 14,000,000 meals, provided over one million nights lodging and distributed thousands of items of clothing.    Although the House is over 100 years old and deteriorating, it has served its purpose well and has changed many lives for the better.