Refrigerated truck helps meet need

In the present economy, low-income families in Snohomish County are struggling to make ends meet. The current unemployment rate is greater than 7 percent, and 1 in 8 families in Snohomish County will need to visit a food bank at least one time this year. At our Everett Food Bank alone, we served more than 3,000 households last month.

Recently, Volunteers of America Western Washington received $79,000 in private donations that funded the first refrigerated truck for the Volunteers of America Snohomish County Food Distribution Center and Food Bank in Everett.

This is the first refrigerated truck in Snohomish County utilized by a food bank. Without refrigeration, we had to make inefficient, back-and-forth runs and we were limited in the type of donations we could safely handle. The refrigerated truck can deliver 10,000 pounds of food with each load. That is equal to 6,600 healthy meals that we are able to provide to our hungry neighbors.

Each year we distribute approximately 4 million pounds of food to 20 partner food banks and 17 congregate feeding programs in Snohomish Country. Volunteers of America has the only facility with this capacity in Snohomish County. With use of the refrigerated truck, we will be able to supply more food to thousands of hungry individuals.

Trucks like these don’t come cheap. It took $79,000 in private donations from visionary groups who saw a way to get more food to our community’s most vulnerable individuals. The EverTrust Foundation, Rotary First Harvest, Fluke Networks and Tulalip Tribes responded to our request for help. The truck has also enabled our partnership with StockPot — and others like them. The benefit to our community will be great, particularly for our most vulnerable families and seniors.

Volunteers of America celebrates the generosity of our community that has been represented by the donation of the refrigerated truck. We commend our donors and supporters who continue to work toward our shared goal of feeding our hungry neighbors.

Phil Smith

President/CEO, Volunteers of America Western Washington