Groceries for Families: Week 2 - Day 3
April 1, 2020
It was great to have no rain today (well, mostly). Warmer temperatures would certainly cheer things up. Lots of families showed up right at 1 pm today, as they get accustomed to the schedule. The mood is very happy and calm, with everyone following the safe-distancing rules.
Groceries were delivered today by Bellevue Presbyterian and Highland Covenant. Site Coaches were on hand to sort and deliver. We’re getting it down to a nice system, with some good humor and fun involved.
The Jubilee frozen meat area is nearly depleted. Today, we started buying chicken breasts to freeze, as we want to provide protein to families.
A few stories:
Yesterday, Barb Bloomstrand, Hospitality Manager at Jubilee REACH, started a lunch delivery program for seniors in our community. Food for the menu was purchased and donated by a volunteer, who has agreed to back the program weekly. Barb cooked the soup, made the sandwiches and packed it all in nice sacks, adding a note of encouragement. Last week, I called homeowners we’ve served through the Jubilee Service Day program, whom I know to be likely shut-in and isolated. Twelve homes with 18 people welcomed the deliveries and sent me lovely notes of thanks all day long yesterday. For sure the tasty food is appreciated, but I think they mostly love being thought and remembered. Thank you to Barb, Doug and those who delivered. So great! This program will continue weekly for the foreseeable future.
From the Family Engagement Specialist at Sherwood Forest Elementary:
“Thank you, Daniel!! This is such good news for Cristina’s family! I just spoke with Jennifer Silva/Ferguson, she told me what was in her boxes of food. It is great that you give fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, toilet paper, and you gave her diapers. Thank you for all that you are doing, Valerie”
We had about 20 extra orders today, with a mix up in communication for some first-time families. With this available, we sent out a quick email to the 60 families on the waiting list, to say they could come now for a one-time order of groceries. Within 20 minutes the first families started to show up, and it continued until about 5pm. Additionally, Daniel was able to deliver some of these orders to people in urgent need of food. What we thought was extra, turned out to have a need after all.
We made the decision today to only provide personal hygiene items on Mon, Tue, and Wed. This will allow inventory to replenish to support the large number of families now in the program. Some items like diapers will be available still. On Thu, Fri and Sat, families will receive bulk foods: rice, flour, pinto beans, sugar, salt, butter, and cooking oil. Portions are packed up and ready to go tomorrow.
As I said, there are about 60 families on the waiting list now. We have taken a pause the last three days to ensure our internal systems are stable, before adding more to the program. We’ll continue to work toward that goal and will be engaging churches to support those families soon. If you think your church could provide more groceries, please email me so we can be ready.
I wish you all a great evening. Continue to pray for this community.
Cheers,
Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH
