Groceries for Families: Week 3 - Day 3

April 8, 2020

Another sunny day…loving this!  Lots of smiles and happy people over here.  We’re working to engage people in conversation and to make them feel more welcome.  Hopefully, it will pay off.  I had a man, Eric, address me by name today, who I must have talked with last week.  He remembered me.  Very cool.

Groceries were delivered today by Bellevue Presbyterian, Highland Covenant and Bellevue Christian Reformed Churches.  A total of 90 families were expected and most showed up.  We delivered six orders, too.  The operation is running silky smooth.  We’re now working to get our spreadsheets of info even sharper, so communication with families is easier.

A load of diapers, socks, and lotion was donated today by Eastside Baby Corner in Issaquah.  They are a great partner in this program, who sought us out just last week.

A few stories:

A woman named Kim comes every Wednesday and Saturday.  Today, I had the chance to talk with her in line.  She is about 50 and has three teenage boys in the district.  She worked at a Starbucks store but was laid off temporarily.  The company is helping with things like healthcare, but money is tight and food is scarce.  She is a widow, so is doing it all herself.  She thanked me over and over for the people who are providing these groceries to help her family through this.

The Jubilee Thrift Store staff was able to be rehired and has now joined the grocery program crew.  Not only are they wonderful people, they are hard workers and fluent Spanish speakers.  This allowed us to engage with many families in their native language.   Watch for them in pictures.

Thanks for the continued support.
Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH