Today seemed to have lots and lots happening in the AM and PM, with incoming deliveries and outgoing orders with families. Yet, the staff all agreed it was very smooth, with the timing of everything clicking very well. Some days don’t do that, but this one just rolled along nicely. The weather was very pleasant, with the sun poking through just enough. With rain coming this week, it was nice to be dry one more day.

Groceries today came from Cornerstone, Creekside Covenant, Westminster Chapel, Crossroads Bible, and Bellevue Presbyterian churches. A total of 161 orders were brought and all went out to families today, including 15 by delivery. Thanks to everyone who came this morning. It’s great to see so many happy people dropping off groceries, delighted to be serving. Thank you!

Laundry detergent was available for a second day today and, of course, was very popular. It is awesome to provide this important item. Thank you to all who donated over the past two weeks to accumulate enough.

Tuesday is a busy day behind the scenes portioning out the bulk ingredient items for later in the week. There is a small army working for a number of hours scooping rice, sugar, salt and beans. (Yesterday was flour day.) The bins are filling and will be ready for outflow on Thursday.

We are doing a simple survey of all the families this week, asking for their best estimate of how many weeks they could use this support. Daniel, who is fluent in English and Spanish, is talking to each family in line, using an IPad to track the results. We’ll be using this information as part of the assessment of what to do with this program after June 13. More to come on that…

A few quick personal stories from Ken:

There is a woman who comes regularly on Tuesday and Fridays. She has a special needs son who will be graduating from Bellevue High School this year. She is very friendly and always grateful for the support she’s given. Her son, evidently, is quite picky about what he eats. So, she regularly unpacks the grocery bags to give back what she knows they won’t use. We’ve learned the cereal he likes (Raisin Bran) and the butter (unsalted), so are able to custom her orders a little bit so they can use more. It’s fun to do this for her. Today, she and I were chatting while she went through the market. She told me how hard things are for them right now and this program is a bright spot in their lives. By providing them groceries, hygiene items and extra food she is stretching their money to fully cover rent, which is a huge relief to her. This exact example is a key goal for this program, so it was wonderful to hear it is working. Real lives, impacted. She also noted that her groceries today came from Crossroads Bible Church, as written on the side, which is near her home. She loved that!
A boy about 12 and his aunt came through today, which turned out to be their first time, having just been added from the wait list. As I carried their groceries, it was clear there wasn’t a car we were walking toward. The boy told me they were calling his mom to come with the car. He and his aunt had ridden their bikes to Jubilee, not knowing they would get two bags of groceries and a bag of hygiene items. They couldn’t get home with it all on the bikes. Then I took him to the market, so he ended up with another box of food. They were surprised and delighted. I watched them load the bags into the car and the pedal away toward home. I assume they’ll be back on Friday, their next scheduled day, and wonder if they will use the bike or the car. 😊

Someone asked at the end of the day if today was a good day. It feels like every day is a good day, honestly. The operation runs well. The staff is motivated. The shoppers are timely. The families are happy. Yet, it always seems to feel like the bigger goals are also met: families feel loved and cared for by the community, churches and community members are serving together, people don’t feel alone, and many more which go unseen. Thank you for all you all do to make this possible. It feels so good to do this together.

Keep going! Don’t slow down! It is working!

Peace,

Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family

Groceries for Families: Week 9 - Day 2

Groceries for Families: Week 9 - Day 3

Groceries for Families: Week 9 - Day 1