We’re all enjoying the cool weather while we can…looking at the heat coming next week. Today was a very smooth day, with no canopies needed for sun or rain. Woo Hoo! Thursdays have many, many individuals dropping off groceries all morning. It’s very fun to see so many people coming from so many different churches. Families were slow to come today, with only a dozen or so in line to start. That has never happened. Yet, they all just seemed to trickle in all afternoon, so by the end, most had come.

Groceries today came from Redeemer, Overlake Park Presbyterian, Sacred Heart, Kalos, First United Methodist, Bellevue Presbyterian, and Doxa churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 164 orders came in today and all but 18 went out to families today, with 20 going out by delivery. The hold-over orders will mostly go out as deliveries to families tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who donated today!

The market was full today with lots of great food, mainly from the Lake Sammamish Foursquare food bank and the volunteer delivery from the Crossroads QFC.

Combined, they had the market well stocked with: bagged vegetables, cut fruit, blueberries, incredible summer squash, peppers, eggs, baked goods, bread, tortillas, and more.

There were also a few boxes of frozen meat, which we handed out directly to families, so it went home fast. Such extras are a wonderful blessing for families. It’s also nice that they get to choose items for themselves. Thank you!

A surprise delivery from Congregations for the Homeless brought in about 30 boxes of potatoes, onions, and apples. They had received the food but couldn’t use it all, so brought it to Jubilee. Volunteers unpacked it all this afternoon, and it will all go out to families tomorrow. We’ve taken extra box lunches to them a number of times in the spring, so it was great to see them today. Thank you!

A personal note from Ken:

As you’ve been reading in this email recently, there are about 80 families exiting the program this week. Today was the last day for about 1/3 of them, so we had to say goodbye, which is hard to do when you’re so close to people for this long. Alleigha and Rosario work out front the most, so know people the best. For sure, today was a hard day for them. The comments coming back to us from these families were all wonderful, full of gratitude, thanksgiving, and friendship. They clearly will miss the crew, as people, also.

Here's something news for you:

With some people going away during the summer, there have been a few tests done recently for having groceries delivered through online purchase & delivery. It is working quite well. Communication is going out this week to all the churches with these details. So, if you bring groceries through a church, watch for that communication to come to you. (NOTE: For sure, the preference is still personal delivery, as we want people engaged. But this can be an option for those who cannot come. As you can guess, the more online orders there are, the crazier it will be for the crew.)

However, if you out of town or you’d like to invite someone from out of town to get involved, this is a new option for you. Sign up through the Jubilee Friends link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0b49a5aa2ba3fd0-jubilee.
Then follow these instructions:

Place an order through Amazon or a grocery store delivery service, using the shopping list given to you through the Jubilee Friends site.
Set delivery for the date you chose.
Set the delivery window to be before 11am.
The address is: Jubilee REACH, 14200 SE 13th Place, Bellevue, WA 98007
IMPORTANT: Somewhere in the name or address field put the JF initials and shopper name (JF-Carpenter). Orders come in multiple bags, so the crew needs to be able to keep bags together.
The Jubilee REACH crew will receive the order, repackage it in paper bags, as needed, and label the bags.

The biggest non-grocery needs right now are #6 diapers, baby wipes and paper towels. Thank you to all who continue to provide these extra items.

Some of you are asking for details on what will happen with this program at the end of August. We’re watching the world carefully, to see how each day impacts the future. This program is scheduled to end August 29. Something will need to take its place, as many families will need continued support. You can expect communication coming in the weeks of August. Stay tuned. Thank you for your continued love and support of these families.

Thanks for another great day, number 106. This week rolls right along. Thanks for sailing with this community. It’s so great to be in this together.

Have a great evening,

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

Groceries for Families: Week 18 - Day 4

Groceries for Families: Week 18 - Day 5

Groceries for Families: Week 18 - Day 3