Produce intake was alive and well one Tuesday in May at Rogue Food Unites in Ashland.

Fresh organic produce was delivered in boxes on large pallets to the facility on Walker Avenue. The produce, ranging from ruby red tomatoes to large heads of iceberg lettuce, came from the Rogue Valley-based Fry Family Farm.

Once the produce was loaded into the facility, scores of volunteers as well as Jesus Rios, client liaison manager for Rogue Food Unites, helped prepare it for the “Neighbors Unites Farmers Markets” that the nonprofit provides throughout the valley.

Rios and the volunteers did it all with smiles on their faces.

Rogue Food Unites — which started in 2020 as a way to supply food to victims impacted by the South Obenchain and Almeda fires — has long provided food to anyone in need, particularly in times of crisis.

In addition, they are working on a new months-long project to give food to one underserved rural community, with the goal that the project can eventually be self-sustaining.

The project is one of several occurring in four Oregon counties under a civic participation program called “Uniting for Action on the Economy in Southern Oregon,” meant to to address ongoing problems, ranging from food security to employment. Each county — Jackson, Josephine, Douglas and Klamath — chooses a community partner to help carry out the project, from February to November 2024.

“It seemed like a really great opportunity to develop some skills and work with people from different backgrounds,” Rios said. “I am excited about it.”

“Uniting for Action” falls under the nonprofit Urban Rural Action, which assigns the teams in Oregon, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona, to “(b)ring Americans together across divides to tackle our nation’s most urgent challenges,” according to the organization’s website.

In Oregon, two co-directors and four coordinators oversee a team of 20 “uniters,” to carry out various projects.

Jenny Seward, a co-director of Oregon’s “Uniting for Action,” said the UR Action teams’ work is critically important at a time when the U.S. is seen as increasingly polarized.

“In order for our country to really be as strong, democratic, and as vibrant as we could be, it’s really important that we learn to listen to each other — even if we don’t agree,” Seward said.

Marla Estes, the Jackson County UR Action coordinator, pointed to studies which have shown that giving people with diverse viewpoints a project to work on together helps them bridge their differences.

“Depolarization starts within, and we have to understand ourselves and make some choices about how to be in the world,” Estes said. “But we can’t if we don’t understand what we’re working with in ourselves.”

Before team members begin projects, they meet together to learn how to bridge their differences through “the ABCs of constructive dialogue.” They then create “problem tree” as a way to analyze their project topic. That analysis is used to create a project plan.

“The process of learning how to work together is at least, if not more, important than the project,” Estes said.

Fola Kareem, 34, who immigrated to the U.S. from Nigeria, is a UR Action team member in Klamath County. He believes many Americans think in “silos” and he hopes bring a communal way of working to the team.

“What I tend to bring is that sense of community; the sense of diversity, as well,” Kareem said. “We hope to bring diverse perspectives to the way things are being done.”

Rios said food is not only a big part of the economy, but it’s a part of people’s well-being.

“Food is so important for the nourishment of our bodies, our brains, our cognitive development,” Rios said. “So, it’s a very positive project. I want to be a part of something that’s going to have a positive impact on people.”

In Douglas County, team members are focused on the issue of employment by helping 16-26 year-olds obtain their driver’s license. The community partner is Phoenix Charter School of Roseburg.

In Josephine County, team members are creating a “toolkit and action plan” to bring rural communities in the Applegate region together, Seward said. The community partner is A Greater Applegate.

In Klamath County, team members are creating a youth-advisory council to help young people find civic engagement opportunities. The community partner is Klamath County Economic Development Association.