Groceries for Families: Week 28 - Day 1

Oct 6

The extended summer weather is such a blessing…we will enjoy it while it lasts. Today was a great day, with the crew becoming more used to the V2 operation. Everything is easier and more routine, which makes for quicker work and more time to talk to families. The morning was busy with lots of deliveries by happy people. The afternoon was a steady stream of families, with Tuesday always being a busy, busy day. Great day!

Groceries today were provided by Bellevue Christian Reformed, Crossroads Bible, Bellevue Presbyterian, Cornerstone, Creekside Covenant, Westminster Chapel, Evangelical Chinese, Covenant Presbyterian, Victory Court and Awakening churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 182 orders came in and all went out to families today. That is a lot! Wow! Thank you to everyone who donated today.

Lots of extra deliveries came in:

Volunteers brought 1000 pounds of Delicata Squash from a farm in Snohomish
6 pallets of Romaine lettuce was donated by Cascadia Produce in Auburn; picked up by a Jubilee truck this morning
4 pallets of russet potatoes and 1 pallet of baby red potatoes was picked up by a Jubilee truck this morning at Farmer Frog in Woodinville
Food boxes were picked up by a Jubilee truck at UGM in Kent this morning, set up by Awakening Church
A van load of beets was picked up by Jubilee staff at Farmer Frog in Woodinville
Volunteers delivered food from the QFC Crossroads
Volunteers delivered food from the Safeway Thrashers Corner in Bothell

All of this added so much to what was provided to families today and much of it will carry over to the next two days, also. Thank you to everyone who made this possible!

A picture of Emil is to the left. He comes on Tuesdays and often comes early to claim his place in line. He always offers to help and today was a huge part of unloading lettuce, potatoes and food boxes. He is originally from Romania, arriving to the US in 2001. He landed in Arkansas and then came to Washington. He is married with two children and brings a ray of sunshine to his community. We all enjoy having him with us. Thanks for all the help today!

On Saturday, Neighbors Feeding Neighbors dropped of about 150 gallons of milk to Jubilee. We were able to group text families, giving them a 45 minute window to come get extra milk. In that time, 27 families came, taking 72 gallons of milk. Thank you for this extra donation, Narima!

The last food truck is here tonight. Thank you to BelPres for sponsoring this weekly special event all summer long. It has been a fun addition for the families each week.

A few emails from a shopper and regular volunteer:

God bless you for all that you are doing, and God bless Jubilee, an amazing safety net for so many. I have discovered that delivering my one sack of groceries on Wednesday is one of the highlights of my week. I love seeing you, I love seeing the staff that interfaces with the shoppers, and I love greeting the other shoppers and the families that begin to gather later in the morning. The COVID response is a lot like a mission trip, and we get to do it right here without traveling miles and miles to share the love and to be transformed ourselves….
I know you are tired and at the end of your day when you write these e-mails, but they are always heartfelt and appreciated. In my trips to the recycling bin with broken-down boxes this afternoon, I watched the Ultimate Melt food truck employees interact with those in line. I was so impressed with their enthusiasm and welcoming for each and every patron. I bought two sandwiches to bring home and my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed them! What a wonderful community JR has developed. Hats off to all the staff and volunteers.

This is the beginning of week 6 since the first version of ‘Groceries for Families’ ended on August 31. The first four weeks were difficult in V1.5. Now we are cruising in V2.

We begin this week with 583 families in the program, including 28 which have 8 or more people so get two orders of food. In these families, there are 2664 people. We are continuing to welcome walk-in’s every day. It is likely to eclipse 600 this week.

Thank you for all you are doing to support these families. A community has been created here and families feel loved.

Peace to you all,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications

Groceries for Families: Week 28 - Day 1

Groceries for Families: Week 28 - Day 2

Groceries for Families: Week 28 - Day 3