Groceries for Families: Week 23 - Day 4
After three difficult days with the additional efforts around registering families for Version 2, the crew this afternoon breathed much easier today. The afternoon was very manageable and sustainable, which kept the mood happy and focused. Whew! The morning was great with lots of different groups dropping off groceries in a steady stream. Thursdays are fun with so many people coming. The weather certainly helps everyone; this week is just perfect with cool mornings and warm afternoons.
1st United Methodist Delivery
Redeemer Delivery
Groceries today came from Sacred Heart, Bellevue Presbyterian, Overlake Park Presbyterian, First United Methodist, Redeemer, Doxa, and Kalos churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 132 orders came in today and all but 3 went out to families today, including 28 by delivery. The remaining three orders will go out first thing tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who participated today.
Doxa Delivery
Kalos Delivery
Exit Lane
We’ve been targeting this day for a few weeks. Because of the change to Version 2 next week, the Thursday families won’t be back to Jubilee until next Thursday, essentially missing a day the other families get.
We’ve been holding as much extra food as possible, so families today could take home as much as possible.
The exit lane tables were full from the beginning and kept full all day.
We told them to take extra, to get them through the next week.
Registering for Version 2
Like every day this week, we ran two lines today. One was the normal line to get groceries. The second was for families to register for Version 2 starting next week. At the end of line 2, they could also get groceries. So the crew, worked the doubleheader all day, which went just fine. The picture attached shows the two endpoints of the lines. Hopefully, most of the Thursday families are now registered.
The weekly delivery from Eastside Baby Corner of diapers came this afternoon. Thank you to this wonderful partner!
Eastside Baby Corner Delivery
Speaking of diapers, lots went out to families today, along with baby wipes. Being only offered once a week, they are a strong motivating factor for families to come at the end of the week. Additionally, bulk foods were offered today: rice, beans, sugar, salt and flour, as well as cooking oil. Thank you to everyone who continues to support this important part of the program.
A few stories from Ken:
We continue to have a few families return to the program, who previously left earlier in the summer. It’s not a large quantity but each week there are a few who show up in line and ask to come back, which is always welcomed. Today, a family returned who left over a month ago. They said it has simply become too difficult financially to support all their needs. There isn’t enough consistent work. Receiving help at Jubilee REACH removes the stress of having enough food and helping their money go to other important needs. This is a very, very common situation. It is the main obstacle to families being self-supportive. In Version 2, we will soon be reaching out to families who have left, just to check in on how they are doing.
You hear regularly about deliveries being made to family homes by members of the crew. There are about 30 families still on the delivery list. There are various reasons: vulnerable members of the family, disability, elderly, no transportation, and others. Daniel has been working with these families for months and has been communicating with them about Version 2, asking them to start coming to Jubilee REACH. It looks like all but 5 will be able to come now, which is wonderful. Daniel will continue to support the specific 5, having gotten to know them personally. He has such a heart for helping people. Other than these, deliveries will halt in V2.
Today’s PM Crew
Thank you for another great day in this ‘Groceries for Families’ program. There are still many moving pieces for next week, but it is all moving forward. There are just two more days left in the current operation. There will be a crew luncheon after tomorrow’s operation to celebrate. Thank you for all you’re doing to help these families in our community.
Enjoy the evening, wherever this email finds you,
Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family
