Truckloads of holiday hope for Snohomish Food Bank

Published 10:04 pm Friday, December 14, 2007

SNOHOMISH ­­— Hope is arriving by the truckloads at the Snohomish Food Bank.

A local church, Snohomish Faith Assembly, in partnership with the Convoy of Hope, donated 37,000 pounds of food to the food bank.

For food bank executive director Daryl Bertholet, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

“The church approached me, saying that they had this opportunity to donate and asked if we would be interested,” Bertholet said. “At first I thought it would be a normal delivery, which is usually a pallet or two of food.”

What he got was $29,000 worth of food and assorted sundries, which equaled 17 enormous pallets stacked with food. Boxes of Gatorade, pork and beans, pancake mix and Top Ramen.

There were also paper towels, bleach and Lysol, which, Bertholet says, aren’t usually seen in food banks.

Senior pastor Rod Ashley of Snohomish Faith Assembly says he and his congregation would like to see this become an annual giving opportunity.

“The food bank does a great job year-round to help people,” Ashley said. “They are great at what they do.”

Convoy of Hope is an international relief organization that teaches churches and community groups how to mobilize in times of need. Convoy of Hope was instrumental in the disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina, which is when the organization came to Ashley’s attention.

“We became familiar with a program they have called ‘Supply Line’ that puts food back into the community,” Ashley said. “So they brought us a semi truck and we loaded it with food. This was something that was very positive for us as a church.”

Despite the large offering, the food bank still needs donations, because the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are its busiest time of year.

Reporter Justin Arnold: 425-339-3432 or jarnold@heraldnet.com.