Groceries for Families: Week 3 - Day 2
April 7, 2020
It’s amazing how good the sunshine feels and helps the mood of everyone here at Jubilee. Families today were talking about how the warmth of the sun feels, and then how cool it was when they were in line in the shade.
Groceries were delivered today by Crossroad Bible, Creekside Covenant and Cornerstone Fellowship churches. A count of 100 families were expected, which is the highest ever on a single day so far in this program. This included 30 new families just off the waiting list. Despite the higher volume, the operation ran very smoothly. The Jubilee staff has all now served multiple times, so is dialed into the details.
Lots of personal hygiene items and diapers were given out today to families. Today also was a large delivery day for so many people donating these same items. It’s no longer novel to me when I find bundles of donated items suddenly appearing near my office. They show up all the time, and I’m so grateful to those who are bringing them. Thank you!
Through a generous donation of Visa gift cards, we made a quick run to Costco today to load up on chicken breasts, which will go in the grocery orders tomorrow. We try to make sure protein is in every order.
A shipment of 40 hand-sewn face masks arrived today from a donor in Spokane…aka my mother and her sewing friends. The JR crew is proudly sporting them. Thank you!
Here’s a list of the 17 churches currently proving groceries during the week. Together, they are serving about 270 families twice per week.
Bellevue Christian Reformed
Bellevue Presbyterian
CityHill Bellevue
Common Good
Cornerstone
Covenant Presbyterian
Creekside Covenant
Crossroads Bible
Doxa
Evangelical Chinese
Highland Covenant
Kalos
Lighthouse
Overlake Park Presbyterian
Rain City
Sacred Heart
St. Louise Parish
Thank you for your love of this community.
A few stories for you:
An email from a family: “Hello, My name is Trinidad. My family and I are truly grateful for all the support you all gave given us during this time of COVID-19. My husband and I are currently not working due to this pandemic; but thanks to all of the people who donate their time and goods we are able to get through it. We truly appreciate all the time you have taken to help all of us in need. Thank you so much! Sincerely Trinidad.”
From Ken: You likely know of the “store” we set up each day in front of Jubilee. This is an outlet for all the extra food donated and allows families to choose for themselves, as compared to the grocery program where they are given a set list of items. Today, we didn’t have enough extra food to make the store worth it, so I made the decision to just skip it. At 12:30 pm, I came into the lobby, only to find a local food bank had delivered potatoes, apples, bread and more to us unexpectedly. Suddenly, the “store” was needed. The crew hastily set up the tables and three of them set up all the displays for easy shopping. Before 1 pm, we had a setup store area stocked full. From nothing to everything, without even planning it. Wow!
Serving together,
Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH
