PGE Drive Change Fund powers family support services across Oregon

To celebrate National Drive Electric Month, Portland General Electric is recognizing the impact electric vehicles have on communities through its 2025 Drive Change Fund awardees, who are providing vital care, human connection and food for people and their families.

The Drive Change Fund is a grant program made possible by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's Clean Fuels Program and administered by PGE, empowering grant recipients to invest in electrification projects across its service area with a focus on benefitting communities.

For 2025, PGE announced a total of more than $5.8 million to more than 30 organizations, including the Oregon Food Bank, Meals on Wheels People, and the PDX Diaper Bank, to partner on electrification projects.

Through the Drive Change Fund, the PDX Diaper Bank will purchase its second electric cargo van, allowing them to replace a smaller, aging vehicle, increase cargo space for diaper pickups and deliveries, and maximize overall efficiency while reducing emissions throughout its route.

"Our partnership with the PGE Drive Change Fund has been pivotal to the growth and sustainability of PDX Diaper Bank," said Rachel Alston, PDX Diaper Bank Executive Director. "Thanks to this grant program, PDX Diaper Bank can optimally meet our essential mission with increased efficiency, allowing us to support even more children and families in need."

2025 recipient, Meals on Wheels People is also using the Drive Change Fund for electric transportation, adding a fully electric, zero emissions refrigerated truck to deliver meals to seniors throughout the Portland-metro area. The new truck will not only help keep food cold for delivery and pickup, but it will also lower costs, allowing the organization to reinvest funds toward more meals and services for the community's most vulnerable older adults.

"Collaboration makes our work possible, and we're so grateful for this vital partnership with PGE," said Suzanne Washington, CEO of Meals on Wheels People. "This support helps us meet urgent needs today while building a healthier, more sustainable future for our community."

In addition to funding electric vehicles, the Drive Change Fund can also be used toward other electrification projects like electric forklifts. This year, Oregon Food Bank is investing in new energy-efficient forklifts with support from the fund. Every week, the food bank moves roughly one million pounds of food. Oregon Food Bank Facilities Manager, Kira Harrow says electric forklifts will reduce costs, downtime and improve operations overall.

"Our fleet of forklifts are a vital component of this massive food movement operation, running up to 16 hours a day to keep fresh food reaching families across the state. Keeping this aging fleet running requires significant power consumption and ever-increasing maintenance costs," shared Harrow. "This investment strengthens our ability to serve communities across Oregon and Southwest Washington while increasing the environmental sustainability of our operations."

As PGE celebrates National Drive Electric Month, these partnerships demonstrate how electric transportation drives positive change far beyond individual vehicles-creating healthier communities and a more sustainable future.

Applications for the 2026 Drive Changes Fund open in February.

2025 Drive Change Fund awardees:

To learn more on how recipients are using Drive Change Funds, click here .