Salt of the Earth answers call

Salt of the Earth is the perfect name for a mom-and-pop food bank and meal program.

President Sandra Richards said they feed those who may fall through the cracks of other programs. Salt of the Earth Ministries Food Bank is not tied to bigger banks with regional support, but it does just fine.

And it just scored a major contributor.

The beautiful new Central Market in Mill Creek chose the program for its donations of produce, dairy products and bread.

The food is distributed to outlets in Granite Falls, Lake Stevens, Mill Creek and Everett. Once a month the group offers a hot dinner, and each week a lunch is served.

Volunteer Peggy Carlson, food bank director, often cooks the hot meal and also prepares baskets at her Lake Stevens home.

Some in low-income neighborhoods can have food baskets delivered to their homes.

Salt of the Earth Food Bank started in 1993, evolving out of necessity, said Richards, 60, of Everett.

“In the later part of 1992, I had some extra time on my hands, and I asked God where he would like me to use that time,” she said.

“Then I met Mildred, a wonderful 81-year-old lady, who had five kids who lived on the streets, come to her home to get them out of the cold and have Bible study.”

Richards asked Mildred if there was anything she could do to help the kids.

Mildred asked Richards to make lunches for the young people. Salt of the Earth was born. “Within a month we had 35 kids coming to her home,” Richards said.

“It was getting a little spendy for my husband and I to handle, so I thought I would approach the Safeway store on Evergreen Way about my dilemma.”

She asked for bread or anything that they could spare. The manager said the food bank that had accepted its donations had closed and she could have the food if she could pick it up seven days a week.

“I arrived at the store on the first day with my son’s small Toyota truck,” Richards said. “I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was so much food.”

Then she wondered what to do with it all. She fed street kids and donated to the Everett Gospel Mission.

“God started opening doors for places the food could go, and soon we were in need of more food, so I approached other grocery stores,” she said. “I got some people who were willing to come along to lend a hand. I guess if you have a willing heart, anything is possible.”

And scoring donations from the new Mill Creek Central Market was a coup. Manager Jim Huffman said Salt of the Earth was one of the first collectors who approached the store.

“They were very organized,” Huffman said. “We kind of shook hands and said let’s give them a go.”

Salt of the Earth agreed to pick up food seven days a week. The day I visited, Terry Haight, 60, a volunteer from Camano Island, and Richards’ retired husband, David, 59, loaded produce into a 1983 Ford van with 268,000 miles.

Richards said the beater runs on prayer power.

Central donates items that reach pull dates, but are still good to eat or drink.

The day I visited at Central Market, they donated bags of onions, cherry tomatoes, corn on the cob and grapes. Salt also collects food from Safeway and Cost Cutter Foods.

For the holidays, they hope to get canned goods and meats that the stores usually don’t provide from other donors. Cash is also a wonderful donation for gas and van insurance. They also need volunteers with strong backs to do pickup and deliveries.

What they really need is a big delivery truck with a hydraulic rear lift. They recently received a 15-passenger van from First Baptist Church in Everett and were very thankful for the donation. For more information, call 425-355-1042.

At their weekly luncheon, some guests donate a dollar for the food. Richards said many have to choose between buying needed medicines or food.

“Some don’t have anything,” she said. “We eat with them. They feel like family. I cry when they give a dollar or two. That speaks to my heart.”

We bless them and they bless us, she said.

Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.

Salt of the Earth Ministries schedule

Sundays: 12:30 p.m., Evergreen Christian Church, 725 112th St. SW, Everett, food bank; 7:30 p.m., Evangelical Free Church Midnight Cry Fellowship, 210 Ave. B, Snohomish, food bank; 12:30 p.m., Monte Cristo Elementary School, 1201 100th St. NE, Granite Falls.

Mondays: Making food baskets for homes in Silver Lake and Mill Creek at Living Hope Church.

Tuesdays: 12:30 p.m., Manna Harvest of Hope, 5002 Bickford Ave., Snohomish; baskets made at south Everett mobile home park; 11:45 a.m., Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2531 Hoyt Ave., Everett, soup kitchen. Dinner served the last Tuesday of each month.

Wednesdays: Making food baskets for Silver Lake, Mill Creek and North Everett.

Thursdays: 12:30 p.m., Pilchuck Valley Chapel, 15533 75th St. NE, Lake Stevens, food bank; baskets made at Peggy Carlson’s home in Lake Stevens.