The number of families served by area food banks is growing by the hundreds, while donations to groups that operate these centers plummet.
It was only a matter of time that the need escalated by rising gas prices and a downtrodden economy would collide with donors’ struggles to provide for their own families, Volunteers of America community outreach specialist Kathleen McGannon Dale said.
The organization operates the Everett-based food bank and distribution center for more than 20 food banks throughout Snohomish County.
“Last month, in Everett alone, we saw 350 new families,” Dale said. “The way the economy is — gas prices what they are — people who’ve always lived on the edge can no longer provide for their families on their own. They’ve never been to a food bank and there’s hundreds of them.”
Aware of the looming crisis for organizations like Dale’s, one Mill Creek man is sounding the alarm for a regional food drive that would utilize public transportation as a collector and distributor to area food banks.
Mark Griswold is banging down doors marketing his food drive plan to city and county transit officials, business owners, even the governor.
“When you’re out there talking to people you find that everybody is aware of the problem; everybody wants to help. They just don’t know how to take that first step,” Griswold said. “Everybody thinks about it during the holidays, and that’s when most companies and individual donors get out their checkbooks or sponsor their annual food drives. Unfortunately, hunger doesn’t take a vacation.”
Griswold did some research to find out what people’s motivations were in giving or not giving to local charities. In some cases, people weren’t sure how or where to make donations — they didn’t have time to drive all the way to Everett to give to the food bank, for example.
“Maybe the easiest solution has been staring us in the face all along,” he said.
With buy-in from agencies like Community Transit, buses could serve as collectors; riders could drop off donations on their way to work in the mornings and volunteers could gather the items for distribution from the busbarns in the evenings. There’s a bit of bureaucracy to wade through, but Griswold said the folks he’s met with seem interested in the idea.
“Sometimes you have to think outside the box,” he said. “This way, we’re collecting and transporting donations at the same time. We’re promoting public transportation and which ever agencies jump on board have something they can feel good about doing for the community.”
He ran the idea past Dale, who applauded his efforts, urging him to bang down whichever doors necessary to get the food drive started.
“It’s a wonderful idea,” she said. “This is the kind of drive we need to get us through these tough economic times and Mark isn’t taking ‘no’ for an answer.”
Griswold used a recent fundraising event for Gov. Chris Gregoire to promote his plan. He worked the crowd for more than an hour, handing out copies of his proposal. He even managed to slip one to a member of Gregoire’s staff.
“People don’t donate because they don’t know where the food bank is, so let’s make the process more simple,” Griswold proposed. “The bus people or whichever agency can take the food to whatever food bank they want and all that’s left for the food bank volunteers is putting the stuff on the shelves.”
At the tail-end of summer — when donations at food banks typically slow down — Dale is begging regular donors to organize food drives and spread the word that Snohomish County’s coalition of food banks is running on empty.
“We’re really struggling,” she said. “We’ve never seen so many new families, so many people who before now have never been to food bank in their lives.”
If you want to help:
• Volunteers of America is seeking food and monetary donations to purchase food for the Everett Food Bank. a distribution center for more than 20 food banks in Snohomish County. For more information, call the Everett office at 425-259-3191, or visit the Web site at www.voaww.org .
• To learn more about Mark Griswold’s food drive campaign, contact him by e-mail at markgriswold@yahoo.com.
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