State officials are investigating alleged over-billing of South Coast food banks, including invoices for the Brookings Community Helpers Food Bank said to be hundreds of dollars too much each month.

The nonprofit agency that supplies food has even stopped shipments to some food banks due to discrepancies over billing. Oasis Shelter in Gold Beach was cut off permanently as of last summer and the Gold Beach Senior Center was cut off for six weeks beginning in September, although it has been reinstated.

Julie Brown, longtime executive director of the Brookings food pantry, said bills from Oregon Coast Community Action routinely run $300 to $700 above what they should be.

 She said many bills are “double posted,” meaning an item invoiced one month, and paid for, also appears on the following month’s bill.

It has been a problem for several years, Brown said.

Food to eight South Coast food banks is given by the Oregon Food Bank through ORCCA, the largest nonprofit organization in Coos and Curry counties.

Brown said ORCCA provides about 75 percent of the Brookings food bank’s volume – too much to walk away from.

“They sent some folks down here in mid-December to straighten out the billing,” she said. “It was smoke and mirrors. The explanations were not sufficient. 

“They used to be more responsive but the hierarchy gets more complex all the time. There is no communication.”

A meeting between Brookings pantry officials and ORCCA board members was held in January 2010, too, in an attempt to resolve similar problems.

“It seemed like there was an understanding they would do a better job of billing, but it really did not produce any changes,” said Georgia Nowlin, former Curry County commissioner who arranged the meeting.

“It’s appalling a regional organization would be so closed to communication.”

ORCCA has consistently refused to discuss the situation with media outlets. Instead, the group’s Chief Executive Officer Mary Schoen-Clark issued a statement saying, “Differences of opinion, personalities and operational structure may occur” among coalitions of diverse groups.

“We are disappointed that some of our partner organizations have chosen to solve their grievances through a public venue ...” she wrote. “At ORCCA we believe it is in everyone’s best interest to work through these challenges politely, in a dignified manner and in keeping with our obligation to confidentiality.”

One journalist reportedly was hung up on when he called ORCCA to ask questions about the controversy.

Meanwhile, problems at food banks have cropped up from Coos Bay to Brookings.

Oasis Shelter provided documentation to ORCCA when its food was shut off last summer, but ORCCA remained unconvinced.

“Their accounting processes are atrocious,” Oasis Executive Director Lea Sevey told The World newspaper of Coos Bay.

Because of the shutdown, Oasis can no longer give emergency food boxes to domestic violence victims. Sevey has to encourage clients to use more food stamps.

The Gold Beach Senior Center’s food supply was cut off for six weeks starting in September after ORCCA received allegations the center was charging its clients for food. It was a misunderstanding and food was again delivered, although the center also experienced over-billing.

The food bank in Charleston had its food supply cut off in July because of what ORCCA said was non-payment of bills. The food bank denied the allegations.

A representative from The Common Good food bank in Port Orford was not available to comment. However, The World newspaper reported that co-manager Alice Loshbaugh reported retaliation from ORCCA after complaints of over-billing as well as a sizeable reduction in the amount of food provided by ORCCA.

Brown of the Brookings food bank backs up that assertion, saying, “Some sites won’t jump on this because they are afraid of retaliation.”

She added that, although ORCCA says it has changed its billing system to solve the problem, inaccuracies still occur on a regular basis.

It costs Brown and her staff lots of time each month to track invoices line by line to make sure they don’t pay more than they should, the director said. After Brown has determined each month’s correct billing amount, she sends payment to ORCCA.

The Brookings food bank hasn’t been denied its shipments yet although Brown said she is worried that it will happen any time.

“Food is the most basic need of people,” Nowlin said. “We should make it as easy as possible to do this. The bigger issue is why it takes so long to resolve these problems.”

Oregon Department of Justice spokesman Tony Green said the state stepped in when it was contacted by a Coos County food bank to report billing and supply problems. He said the DOJ is “monitoring the problem,” but declined to be specific about what steps are being taken.

Green said his agency hopes the situation can be resolved, possibly by the food banks and ORCCA itself.

The Brookings food bank did get some good news Thursday, though. It learned that Sutter Coast Hospital of Crescent City has donated 1,600 pounds of food to the pantry.