This entryl comes to you on a Monday this week, as we shifted the entire Thursday operation to today because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Overall, the one day change went very well. Shoppers were slow to come but the 11am-12pm window had over 100 grocery orders dropped off. What a rush! Thank you. Families lined up like normal but not everyone came. We probably missed 40-50 families today. It’s quite likely they will come tomorrow or Wednesday instead. Not everyone can switch days so easily. The weather cooperated, with cooler temperatures but dry. The week is off and running!

Groceries today came from Lighthouse, Highland Covenant, Sacred Heart School & Parish, Overlake Park Presbyterian, First United Methodist, Crossroads Bible, Doxa and Bellevue Presbyterian churches, as well as the Rotary Bellevue Sunrise Club and Jubilee Friends group. A total of 177 orders came in today and all went out to families today, including four by delivery. Thank you for the donations today and for shifting days this week.

Because of the day change, delivery of the food boxes was not available. So, Randy took our box truck to Kent at 9am this morning to pick up 200 boxes. He was back by 10am, and the volunteers quickly unloaded the pallets into the production area.

Produce through the King County Grants was delivered this morning. A nice small selection came specifically for senior citizens in the community, including some lovely mushrooms from Mt. Si.

A larger delivery came for the grocery program, which adds some wonderful fresh produce to the market. The senior citizens usually come from 12pm-2pm but had to shift to 4-5pm because of the change in grocery days. About 25 seniors came and we’ll deliver to about 6-8 tomorrow.

The Clyde Hill Police did a food and pantry drive for the ‘Groceries for Families’ program over the weekend. Early this morning three police vehicles full to the roof showed up. Lots of different items came in. They were able to engage many people in the Clyde Hill and Yarrow Point communities. Thank you CHPD!

The market was nice and full today with a variety of items. Volunteers brought donations from the Safeway Thrasher’s Corner. Volunteers brought donations from the QFC Crossroads. The grant produces added a lot. Lots of non-perishable donations came in, too. Thank you everyone.

We did a separate market last Friday, inviting all the families to come. It was a chance to put out much non-perishable food, frozen food, and random items. Doing it this way gives the families much more time to examine items and not be rushed. We’ll be doing this more often in December.

A few emails from families:

Today was my first visit for the grocery program. I was surprised how all the people in Jubilee Reach prepare and organize the Grocery program for the families. I also appreciate all the donors about the food with great quality. The food offered would be truly helpful to my family, and the love for neighbors would be remembered forever. I hope to be a donor of Jubilee Reach in near future. Thank you so much again!
We’ve not met yet, but the staffs and volunteers at Jubilee Reach has been awesome. Making it happen day after day. As the pandemic continues on, it’s digging deeper for continued enthusiasm, and I don’t see a decrease at all. Ken and Daniel is always there greeting and helping. Barbara help speeding up the line knocking out the oil and dish soap filling station. They make it feel like it’s a sunny day out. I want them to know, they’ve made keeping my 5 boys charged and recharged a whole lot easier. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!

We begin this 13th week of version 2 of the ‘Groceries for Families’ program with 697 families in the program. Last week, 12 were added and 4 removed. A total of 14 families were on the waiting list before today, with another 6 added today. There are 58 families on the ‘watch list’, meaning they are not coming regularly enough. Denisse communicates with them to learn why they are not coming weekly and will try to help.

Thanks for another great day. This essential program is working. Thank you for all you’re doing to sustain it.

Have a great evening,

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

Groceries for Families: Week 35 - Day 1

Groceries for Families: Week 35 - Day 2

Groceries for Families: Week 34 - Day 3