The week ends on very positive note with a great 3 day of families. The dry and warm weather persists, which makes the whole operation easier. Lots of shoppers were here in the morning, with joyful hearts and mask-covered smiles. Thursday families tend to be more laid-back and slower to come, so the pace was steady all afternoon. There were quite a few late arrivals. It’s so great to see so many familiar faces and have a chance to reconnect with them each week.

Groceries today were provided by Doxa, First United Methodist, Overlake Park Presbyterian, Sacred Heart Parish & School, Highland Covenant, Crossroads Bible, Bellevue Presbyterian and Lighthouse churches, as well as Rotary Bellevue Sunrise and the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 168 orders came in and all went out to families today. Thank you to everyone who gave today.

If you read yesterday’s email, you learned the Sysco truck arrived late, after families already came.

Today, the truck arrived at 7:00am, overcompensating, to say the least. The driver and supervisor on the phone were very understanding that we couldn’t receive the cold items so far in advance.

It would have left perishables foods sitting outside for up to 8 hours. So, the driver dropped the 3 pallets of produce and then went on to his next stop. He returned at 12pm to bring the dairy box, milk boxes, and protein boxes. That worked out very well. We’ll see what happens next week.

Here's what is in a unit for one family with the new Sysco boxes:

Produce box: 3# apples, 3# pears, 5# potatoes, 2-3 onions
Dairy box: bag of shredded mozzarella cheese, 1# butter, 1-quart liquid eggs
Protein box: a frozen bag of shredded chicken with sauce and a frozen bag of breaded chicken patties
One gallon of milk

The crew combined the Produce and Dairy boxes to start. They then added the fresh produce we purchased this morning: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, bananas. In the end, it was a nice variety of nutritious food, paired nicely with the non-perishable bags brought by shoppers.

Volunteers have been essential to the running of this program. Today was no exception. The morning and afternoon volunteers worked hard to do all the tasks needed to keep things in order. Thank you! If you want to volunteer, sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b094daeaf2fa6fc1-volunteer. More slots will be added tomorrow.

Pastor Gerardo from El Dios Viviente Methodist Church in White Center, Seattle came at 4pm today with two vehicles. As you’ve read since the spring, we have partnered with him to help bring food to his church and nearby community. He and his volunteers are filling the gap of need in a very important way, and we are blessed to walk alongside him. Today, we passed along all the remaining foods from Sysco, which he is distributing to families as this email is typed. Please pray for this community and for Pastor Gerardo.

A personal note from Ken:

The lady whose husband had a reoccurring brain tumor appear in June was here yesterday and sent me a text today with an update He went through chemo and radiation this summer. We’ve been following their story all summer on this blog. She updated us that after a meeting with the oncologist today, Overlake Hospital wants to increase his current monthly chemo to weekly to help with the inflammation and hopefully his memory. She asked for help in two ways: 1) pray for her husband; he is struggling emotionally through this entire process; pray for strength for him and 2) gas cards to Safeway to help her cover the cost of driving him to the hospital so frequently. She can get gas at the Safeway on 140th and BelRed. If you’d like to contribute, please drop them to me at Jubilee REACH. She comes for groceries on Wednesdays. Beyond this, I’d also like to ask for any cards of encouragement to her. She is carrying their family and is under a lot of pressure to hold it together. Thank you.

Thanks for another great day. It’s hard to believe week 6 of Version 2 is already over. Time rolls along. From the very beginning in March, this program has now been in operation for more than 6.5 months. Your involvement and commitment to the ‘Groceries for Families’ program is so important. Thank you for lifting up these sweet families.

Peace to you all,

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

Groceries for Families: Week 28 - Day 3

Groceries for Families: Week 29 - Day 1

Groceries for Families: Week 28 - Day 2