Today was a lovely way to end the week. The weather was cool and rainy in the morning but opened up to dry and warm by mid-morning. Saturdays are a blur, with all the groceries arriving between 8:30-9:30am and families coming at 10:00am. It was a steady and calm pace coming in this morning. Families lined up by 9:45am and came steadily all morning long. The crew seemed to enjoy the day, which is always great.

Groceries today were provided by Bellevue Presbyterian, Evangelical Chinese, and Victory Court churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 115 came in today and all went out to families. Thank you to everyone who participated!

The market was open today with few fresh foods but lots of non-perishables, books, clothing, and more. Very popular! Thank you to everyone who gave extras. The two very large orchard bins of apples continue to empty. If you remember the picture from Thursday where they both were full, you can see the difference now. Families were again asked to take extra bags of potatoes, so many more went. Our large supply of potatoes is finally to a manageable amount. Yeah!

Today was the last day for bulk ingredient foods to be provided. The crew has now flipped the lobby to be ready for personal hygiene items on Monday. Thank you to everyone who helped fill the pantry.

The group called “Jubilee Friends” is a place individuals can sign up to bring groceries if they’re not associated with a partnering church or organization. This has been going all summer. The pace is staying very steady and today had 9 orders, which is the most ever. If you have anyone who would like to participate in this way, send them the link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0b49a5aa2ba3fd0-jubilee. Thank you!

One quick follow up story from Ken:

The wife from Wednesday returned today with news of the MRI for her husband’s brain tumor. The tumor is about half the size it was in early June when it returned from 2017 surgery. The doctor is going to skip chemo this month to allow the swelling to go down, so they can do another MRI in September. For now, he will be on oral medication only. This is very good, as it will allow him to gain strength and energy back. She showed me the MRI report, which was in medical English, so difficult to understand. She is in good spirits. Their daughter starts school soon, so that is a good distraction.

Here’s a fun, quick view of the quantity of bulk ingredients given out this week:

Flour: 74 bags or 152 lbs
Rice: 150 bags or 375 lbs
Beans: 165 bags or 198 lbs
Sugar: 223 bags 212 lbs
Salt: 170 bags or 85 lbs

As with each Saturday, here’s a look at statistics to date after 21 weeks:

Program Days: 132
Families currently in the program: 520+
People in these families: 2340 (approximate)
Families on the waiting list: 0
Grocery orders provided to-date: 22,542
Churches & Organizations engaged: 28
Different shoppers participating: 950 (approximate)

Today marks the last day of week 22 of this ‘Groceries for Families’ program. It continues to cruise right along with so many good things happening. Thank you all for the continued participation, prayers, support, and love for the people of our community. It’s just so great to be in this with you all.

Details of the next phase of ‘Groceries for Families’, which begins September 1, will come out on Monday. Watch for it!

Thanks for a great week. Tomorrow is a day of rest. Be back Monday.

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

Groceries for Families: Week 22 - Day 6

Groceries for Families: Week 23 - Day 1

Groceries for Families: Week 22 - Day 5