Groceries for Families: Week 29 - Day 1

Oct 13

Rain is one thing, but the wind is quite another…especially a fall PNW storm. This morning started in a steady downpour, which stopped around 8am, just in time for the wind to start. By mid-morning, the wind was really howling and it kept up most of the afternoon. The many shoppers dropping off all morning faced the wind well, with only a few bags blowing off the tables. The families enjoyed a little sun this afternoon, but most wore jackets to keep warm. The day went very smoothly and was very enjoyable all around.

Groceries today came from Awakening, Victory Court, Covenant Presbyterian, Evangelical Chinese, Westminster Chapel, Creekside Covenant, Cornerstone, Crossroads Bible, Bellevue Presbyterian and Bellevue Christian Reformed churches, as well as Bellevue Kiwanis and the Jubilee Friends group. A record 12 orders came from Jubilee Friends today. Thank you for spreading the word! A total of 185 orders came in today and all went out to families. Thank you to everyone who donated today.

The market was very full today. Volunteers brought lots of great food from the Safeway Thrashers Corner and the Crossroads QFC. There are remaining delicata squash and baby red potatoes from last week’s farm pick-up. Thank you to everyone who donated extras to add to the market.

Last Friday afternoon, volunteers made major changes to the carport and canopy structures outside.

Two families donated two new carports recently…thank you! These were added over the market area, which will now allow us to hang gutters in-between because the three carports covering this 20’ x 30’ area are all the same. We will be doing that this week, which will keep the main work area completely dry. This is huge!

The two carports which had been in the market were moved further out, so we can now offer more shelter to families. With the storms coming this weekend, all six carports were put on cinder blocks and lashed down with rope. All survived the storms! Check out the attached ‘view from above’ picture to see the new look.

Regretfully, three of the 10’ x 10’ canopies did not survive. We staked and weighted these down on Friday. However, the metal just isn’t made for such strong wind. One was crushed by the storm Sunday night and two were crushed this morning in a very strong gust. All three had been out since the spring, so served a very good purpose. We’ll be looking for more canopies or carports this fall to add more shelter.

The Sysco truck, due in from 9:30am-11:30am, arrived at 7:00am. After discussions with the driver and supervisor, they agreed to have the refrigerated truck sit in the lot until 9:30am. Shoppers had to navigate this large semi in the middle of the lot all morning. He finished unloading at 10:30am and headed to “Jubilee West” with his next load. This is El Dios Viviente Methodist Church in White Center, Seattle, which has been our key partner since March.

We’re continuing to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, picking up an online order each morning at 7:00am at Cash & Carry. This adds tomatoes, lettuce, bananas, green pepper, cucumber and carrots to the food boxes. See the attached picture

A few nice stories to share:

A Westminster Chapel member showed up today with a carload of 10 grocery orders. She works at Evergreen Hospital and had shared with her team about the ‘Groceries for Families’ program. They decided to donate funds to cover the 10 orders together. How cool is that!? Thank you, Evergreen friends!
Maria has been coming for groceries since the spring and often brings the crew home-cooked Mexican dinners. Today she brought enchiladas, which she said were more American than true Mexican, which is different. We took this to mean we are wimps and can’t handle the real stuff. Probably true. She is very sweet and has connected to our hearts through her cooking. Thank you!

We begin this 7th week of V2 of ‘Groceries for Families’ with 603 families in the program: Tue 209, Wed 205, Thu 189. This includes 29 large families (8+ people) which receive double groceries. Nineteen families were added last week and another 5 were added today. There is a no-show factor of about 15%. We are actively communicating with these families to remedy why they are not showing up. The reasons are varied, and some we can help with. Thank you to those of you who responded to the appeal last week to bring more groceries each week. The need remains high, and we are not wanting to put anyone on the waiting list.

Thank you for another wonderful day. Please reach out with any personal feelings or stories you’ve experienced through being a part of this program.

Have a nice evening,

Ken Carpenter
Director- Community Care, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family

Jubilee REACH Communications

Groceries for Families: Week 29 - Day 1

Groceries for Families: Week 29 - Day 2

Groceries for Families: Week 28 - Day 3