EVERETT – After the Everett Food Bank announced earlier this week that it would run out of food in 12 days, the public has responded with nearly $54,000 in cash and more than 15,000 pounds of food donations.
“We said to the community that we were in serious trouble and the community has responded,” said Bill Humphreys, a vice president for Volunteers of America, the nonprofit organization that manages the food bank. “It’s really been heartwarming.”
So far, the organization has received $30,983 from a total of 215 people or organizations, including $10,000 from the Everett-based Builders Exchange of Washington, Inc., Humphreys said.
An additional $23,000 has been either been donated or pledged by three local groups: The Everett Clinic Foundation, the Stillaguamish Indian Tribe and Providence Everett Medical Center, he said.
Food donations, coming from 210 people or groups, have totaled 15,614 pounds and collection drives for the food bank continue. One today, a project of local Boy Scouts, is being conducted at grocery stores in Everett and Mill Creek.
Humphreys said that the food donations collected so far will probably supply the food bank for about 13 days.
“This has been a tremendous community spirit of reacting quickly and meeting the crisis,” Humphreys said.
Cash donations allow the food bank to buy in bulk. The amount of food that will be bought with the money depends on what items are purchased. No estimates were available Friday.
One of the reasons for the shortage in food bank supplies was a drop in donations this year to the Letter Carriers Food Drive, Snohomish County’s single biggest food drive of the year.
If this year’s donations from that food drive had matched last year’s donations, the Everett Food Bank would have gotten an estimated 9,200 more pounds of food.
Some local organizations have talked to the Everett Food Bank about finding ways to support it on a continuing basis, “so they can (help us) now and help us later,” Humphreys said.
By developing such partnerships with year in and year out support, “it will allow us not to have to shout from the rooftops, ‘Help! Help! We’re in an emergency, ‘” Humphreys said.
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
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