Commitment, creativity and community spirit often shine brightest when times are hardest.
For proof, look no further than last week’s arrival of a new, 18-foot refrigerated truck that will bring food banks throughout Snohomish County something that’s been in short supply: nutritious produce, meat and dairy products to serve thousands of struggling families.
This generous, $79,000 gift to Volunteers of America Western Washington, donated by the EverTrust Foundation, Rotary First Harvest, Fluke Networks and the Tulalip Tribes, is the first of its kind for the local food bank system. It will allow VOA, which supplies 20 food banks and 17 feeding sites in the county, to collect tons of perishable food that would otherwise go to waste.
The timing couldn’t be better. The Everett Food Bank served more than 3,000 households last month, up from 2,700 the month before. Countywide last year, the number of households served by food banks jumped 11.9 percent — that’s 40,442 more than in 2007.
The new truck can bring in 10,000 pounds of food per load, which translates into roughly 6,600 meals.
Because most perishable food can’t go more than 30 minutes without refrigeration, VOA was limited in how much food it could collect from grocers through its food rescue program. Now it can deliver a whole lot more milk, eggs, yogurt, meat and fresh fruit and vegetables to hungry children, adults and seniors throughout the county — a welcome boost in the nutritional value of its offerings.
Bill Humphreys, VOA’s vice president of operations, said the gift also allows VOA to develop new donor partnerships, such as one with StockPot of Everett, which has agreed to donate pallets of soup on at least a bimonthly basis. And VOA will work with Rotary First Harvest to explore opportunities with local farmers — picking up leftover crops or perhaps having portions of crops dedicated to the food bank.
As he celebrates all that this new truck makes possible, Humphreys hopes it’s just a start. He’d love to assemble a small fleet of refrigerated “sprint vans” — smaller than the new truck but more fuel efficient — to increase the food banks’ inventory of perishable food even more.
In the short term, the need will surely continue to rise. Even once the economy starts to recover, it won’t go away. Strong, consistent support from the community will always be needed. Given what we saw last week, we’re betting it will be there.
Interested in donating to the food bank? Call Volunteers of America Western Washington at 425-259-3191 or click here.
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