The Buzz: October/November 2025
This is The Buzz - Mosquito Fleet’s monthly e-newsletter!
Dear friends,
It’s a short-and-sweet newsletter this month! Our team has been super busy over the last couple of weeks, with a couple members traveling, others juggling competing urgent priorities given the ongoing government shutdown, and our on-water team trying to get as much done as possible before the Kayak Lending Library closes for the season. For those of you in the same boat (so to speak), we send you love and lots of solidarity, as always.
We’ve got a few upcoming events to share; two of them are happening very soon, and we apologize for the short notice. We hope you can still make it if you’re interested!
Upcoming Events
Community Day with the Fleet!
Friday, October 31st | 12:00 PM — 3:00 PM | leet HQ (Green Anchors in St. Johns, PDX)
Now that our season is coming to a close, we could use your help wrapping things up at Green Anchors. Don’t worry, we’ll have some fun while we do it! We will work on some final repairs, clean our kayaks, and get them into storage. All while eating copious amounts of candy :) No RSVP necessary; just show up! View the event on our website calendar here.
SEATTLE: Beach Clean-Up with River Access Paddle Program
Saturday, November 1 | 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM | 4750 W Marginal Way, Seattle, WA
Join RAPP on November 1st for a river-cleanup! They will meet at həʔapus Village Park & Shoreline Habitat (formerly Terminal 107 Park) for this month’s clean-up event. Participants will paddle in tandem kayaks to a beach only accessible by boat, clean up and bag garbage, and paddle back to the warehouse. Learn more and RSVP on RAPP’s website here.
Can’t make this event? There’s another clean-up on Saturday, December 6, 2025. Check out RAPP’s full event calendar here.
Community Event: Public Comment Writing Workshop
Wednesday, November 5 | 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM | Online via Zoom
Mosquito Fleet, along with other great local orgs, is involved with ongoing efforts to clean up and restore the Portland Harbor Superfund site. As part of that work, we’re sharing this event from Neighbors for Clean Air, Verde PDX, 350PDX, and the Green Energy Institute.
The city of Portland has released a “discussion draft” of its Economic Opportunity Analysis study (EOA). The purpose of the EOA is to analyze and predict growth in Portland’s industrial and business districts; it uses that data to make suggestions for how much “developable land” they need to set aside for businesses and jobs, and where that land should be. Sometime in the next few weeks, the city will open a public comment period for the draft EOA, allowing us to weigh in on what the study found and what it recommends for our future. Based on those comments, the EOA may be amended or changed.
This workshop will teach us more about the EOA and what may be in it. It will also teach us about public comments: what makes a good one, what to include and what to leave out, and the process for doing it. You can register for the workshop ahead of time, or attend without registering. RSVP and/or get the link for the workshop here.
News From the Fleet
Kayak Lending Library Closing for the Season
On October 31st, we will officially wrap the 2025 season of the Kayak Lending Library. This was our biggest season yet, and we’re so thankful to you – our community – for all the love, joy, trust, and strength we got to witness on the water with you this year.
Over the fall and winter, the Fleet will mostly be focused on internal work and on-land programming in Portland, as well as supporting our homies at River Access Paddle Project (RAPP) in Seattle and the Rich City Rays in Richmond, CA. Local Fleet team members will be plugged into organizing and community-building opportunities in Portland, so stay tuned to the Fleet Instagram and this newsletter to get updates about ways you can plug in too!
A Fleet paddle with staff and residents of WeShine villages (faces redacted for privacy)
Attendees at our QTBIPOC Camp (faces redacted for privacy)
A paddle with PNW Women Outdoors (faces redacted for privacy)
First Annual Fleet Retreat
The Fleet Leadership Team will be gathering in Portland in mid-November for our first Annual Fleet Retreat (!). We’ll be going over our experiences and community feedback about the 2025 KLL season, deciding what kinds of work we want to do in the coming year, and starting to make plans for the 2026 Library season. This kind of deep strategizing and long-term planning wasn’t possible for us a few years ago, so once again, THANK YOU to those of you who generously gave your resources and your time to us over the 2025 season – we know this gathering will set us up for an even better 2026!
Resources for Folks Impacted by SNAP Loss (Giving and Getting Support)
Finally, we know most of you will be all too aware that, thanks to deliberate cruelty from our federal government, food stamp funds won’t go out this month; 40 million people are going to be facing a sudden, unexpected increase in their grocery costs – right as heating bills are going up, too. Many of us won’t be able to close that budget gap. If you haven’t done so already, and if you are financially able, please consider making a donation to your local food pantry — they’re going to need it.
Whether you yourself need help with food, or are looking to support others, here are some options (shoutout Portland Harbor Community Coalition for sharing a bunch of these in their most recent newsletter):
Oregon Food Bank’s Food Finder Map: This map lets you search for local food pantries, food banks, soup kitchens, etc. You can filter by location, hours of operation, and food type so you can find places that work for you.
FindHelp.org: This is a powerful resource that lets you do advanced searches for all kinds of support in your area, including not only food, but housing, health care, financial assistance, and more. You can set your filters like age group, housing status, income level, etc so you don’t have to scroll through a bunch of irrelevant results.
Local restaurants providing meals: In true Portland fashion, there are a bunch of awesome restaurants, cafes, food trucks, etc that are stepping up with free or discounted food. Some of them include: Geek Easy Cafe (go in and ask for an “Otaku Special”), AG Burrito Shop (go in and ask for a “SNAP Burrito”), and Heretic Coffee PDX. This article in Oregon Live lists about 15 other local shops who can help if you ask.
Of course, these folks won’t be able to keep doing what they’re doing without the community pitching in, too. Some of them (like Heretic Coffee PDX and Geek Easy Cafe) have places on their websites where you can donate to their food distribution work specifically; for others, you can support them by giving them your business!
Equitable Giving Circle: EGC is a Black Women and Black Femme led organization aiming to shift significant resources into Portland’s BIPOC economy, while also fostering community healing. A key element of their work is sourcing the food from local Black + Brown Farms and distributing it to the community; they deliver food to over 225 families every week. You can make a donation or contribute to their Wish List on their website here. You can find help with food on their Resources page here.
“Feed a Cutie” Grocery Assistance Request: Some challenges – food allergies, mobility issues – make food pantries an inadequate solution. This local program allows Portlanders to apply for monetary help so they can buy the groceries they need. Given how many folks are being impacted by this latest round of government cruelty and inaction, and that this program is being run by an individual, they had to cap applications at 100 people. If you have some money to spare and prefer to give it directly to someone who needs it, this is a great option. Click here to learn more and get the link to donate.
PDX Saints Love: A very cool local organization with all kinds of programs, including a Day Center that provides meals. You can make a monetary donation or contribute items from their Wish List on their website. For information about accessing the Day Center, click here.
Become a Monthly Donor!
As a small grassroots organization, Mosquito Fleet appreciates any and all financial support we receive from the community. Recurring donations are particularly helpful to ensure we can continue providing free services and programming to the community. If you’re able to support the Fleet monthly at any amount - $10, $25, $50 - click below!
Show Your Fleet Pride!
You can also support the Mosquito Fleet in style with custom gear courtesy of Worx Printing Co-Op, a worker-owned union co-operative print shop! Worx provides this service at no cost to us, so your purchase will directly benefit the Fleet’s work in 2025 and beyond. The Fleet appreciates your support!