Groceries for Families: Week 29 - Day 3
Typically Thursdays are the calm day of the week, with slightly fewer families coming. Today, however, was busy from the first moment at 1:00pm until 3:30pm. At 3:00pm, the normal closing time, there was still a line out to the grass (about 20 people deep). Part of the issue was about 20 new families showing up to register. This slows the entire line down. It is fine if there are 5, but twenty causes many minutes to be added to the operation. The morning was a cold temperature but a wonderful flow of shoppers dropping off groceries. Thank you! Families enjoyed some afternoon sun and dry weather. The end of the line never did reach the front until the end of the day. Despite this, the day went very smoothly. The crew was tired but was offered relief by a team of volunteers.
Lighthouse Delivery
Groceries today were provided by Lighthouse, Highland Covenant, Sacred Heart (Parish & School), Bellevue Presbyterian, Crossroads Bible, Overlake Park Presbyterian, First United Methodist, and Doxa churches, as well as the Rotary Bellevue Sunrise and Jubilee Friends group. A total of 130 orders came in, which was very low for a Thursday. Fortunately, 38 orders carried forward from earlier in the week, giving 168 total orders. All but 4 went out to families today. Thank you to everyone who participated today!
Jubilee Friends Delivery
Doxa Delivery
Sysco showed up right on time at 9:30am this morning with the food boxes of perishable items. Unloaded finished by 11:00am, which allowed the AM crew to start assembling the final food boxes for families. This includes combining the produce and dairy boxes into one and then adding the fresh fruit and vegetables purchased each morning from Cash & Carry Bellevue. It is a very slick operation and provides families a well-balanced box of food.
A special delivery came from a member at Newport Covenant Church today – six strands of LED lights. We will be stringing these under the new carports to give more light to the operation. With the darker, cloudy days now, it is quite dark under the carports. This will be a huge help getting into the winter months. Thank you!
Newport Covenant Delivery
Exit Lane Market
The exit lane market was very full today with both perishable and non-perishable items. Volunteers brought food from the QFC Crossroads. Extras were carried over from yesterday’s pick up at Farmer Frog in Woodinville, too. Thank you to everyone who gave the extra items.
Food Box Assembly
There are a few families which have made arrangements to pick up food after hours (between 4-6pm). Mainly this is due to work or childcare. Most send an email in the morning to confirm they are coming, so we remember to hold food for them. On Thursdays, a man comes at 5:30pm. He lives nearby and works in downtown Bellevue as a cook. He has been coming since the spring and is a delightful man, whom we all enjoy. His work hours picked up in July but are not yet full-time. We sat and chatted a few minutes – just two dads. He said life remains very hard for them, and he can’t wait for easy routines to return. He and his wife have three children – a 21-year-old daughter who lives on her own and two young boys. He said the online school is difficult and adds extra stress to the family. Financially, they are not only supporting themselves but regularly send money to Honduras to help his mom and his wife’s mom. This is where any extra money goes. He said without such support, they would suffer, as there are little hope and few jobs there now. This causes a strain for him here, but he knows it is nothing compared to what those in Honduras deal with. So, they continue to help. Erwin is a good man. He is carrying a lot to support families in two countries. Please pray for him and those with him. Life is hard.
Walking the line at the opening time this morning, brought a connection to a new family. A mom in line said she was here for the first time and didn’t know what to do. She lives in East Bellevue and has 3 kids in the school district. They are struggling to get by and someone sent her to Jubilee for help. She was very relieved and happy to hear about the services she could receive here. She registered and reached the front, where she was welcomed by the crew who knew she was here for the first time. She got help carrying everything to the car and made her way through the market, getting to choose items for her family. For sure, she went away feeling good. We will look forward to seeing her again next week. Hopefully, she feels there are people here who care and will help her. Hopefully, she will find the community here and hope.
Today’s PM Crew
This week finishes on a very good note. The operation is humming along and families are getting help. Thank you for all you’re doing to support this ‘Groceries for Families’ program. It matters, and it is working!
Have a great evening and weekend,
Ken Carpenter
Director- Community Care, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family
