December 29, 2020

The temperature this morning at 7am was cold – scrape your car windows cold. All morning, the temperature actually seemed to get colder. It wasn’t until the afternoon that the chill in the air finally wore off. By 5pm it was actually raining, so clouds have come in. Despite the cold, the beautiful sun and lack of wind made it very tolerable. The morning had lots and lots of happy people dropping off groceries and pantry items. Thank you!!! The afternoon started with a long line of families, which is common for Tuesday. By 2pm, the line had disappeared and things were quiet for about 15 minutes. The pace picked up again and by 2:40pm, the line was back and the last half an hour was the busiest of the day. In the end, we gave out 235 food boxes, which included 43 carried over from yesterday. Busy!

It is clear families have partnered up in this holiday season and with the more extreme weather. Many people are picking up for 2, 3 or 4 families. This is great to see. The community is very strong for some people.

Groceries today came from Evangelical Chinese, Covenant Presbyterian, Awakening, Westminster Chapel, Creekside Covenant, Cornerstone Fellowship, Crossroads Bible, East Shore Unitarian Bellevue Presbyterian and Bellevue Christian Reformed churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 201 orders came in today and all went out to families today, along with another 33 carried over from yesterday. Thank you to everyone who donated today.

The AM volunteers came from Crossroads Bible Church. This group of adults and kids worked hard, plus they braved the frigid temperature all morning. Food boxes came about 9:00am, and they were packing them by 10:45am. Thank you, crew!

The straw which covers the areas families stand in has been taking a beating with the rain. Even under the canopies, it gets wet. Two new bales were delivered yesterday, and volunteers spread out a nice new layer. It looks great and was wonderful to have today for families. Thank you, Libbey and Chris!

As often happens on Tuesday’s, Maria brought the crew lunch. Today it was a lovely plate of homemade enchiladas. We’ll enjoy them tomorrow. The attached pictures shows her in her movie star glasses. She continues to love through her cooking.

Update for January:

As written in yesterday’s summary, the USDA food boxes will end tomorrow. The renewal of the program is unknown. For sure, there will be a delay of at least 3 weeks. This means the loss of the boxes which supply milk, meat, dairy (cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, yogurt), potatoes, onions.

Beginning next week, we will replace this by purchasing fresh produce and eggs with funds previously donated toward the grocery program. Thank you! This will include lettuce, tomatoes, green pepper, onion, bananas, cucumber, carrots, and eggs. Volunteers will pack these items into grocery bags (paper or plastic) for families. A count of 200-225 will be needed each Tue, Wed, and Thu.

We have some remaining dairy from recent food boxes, which we’ve stored in refrigeration. One will be added to each bag until it runs out, which will be in the first week, for sure.
For protein, we have been storing up donated meat from QFC in the freezer for weeks. There is enough to last at least two weeks. It is an assortment of chicken, pork, and beef. We will add one package to each bag. We’ll be working on the next plan for protein.

We’d like to ask for your help in the following ways:

Milk: Would you kindly bring milk to offer each family 1 gallon weekly? Preferred are 2% and whole milk. It can be gallons or half gallons, and need not be an expensive brand or type. We have 3 large refrigerators to store it and will work to keep them available for milk. It can be brought with your normal grocery orders or really any morning, including Monday and Friday. (As if on cue, QFC will have half gallons on sale for $.99 beginning tomorrow, through next Tuesday, with a minimum purchase.)
Bags: Please bring paper and plastic grocery bags to Jubilee, as we’ll need to replace the boxes as the carrying item.

The plan is to keep this new operation in place until either the USDA boxes return or a new plan is uncovered. Thank you in advance for the additional support.

The rest of the operation will stay the same, including the non-perishable groceries and pantry items offered to families daily. Thank you!

Further information about the ‘Groceries for Families’ program in February & beyond will be coming out next week. Many of you have been asking, which is very appreciated. Thank you for your care and interest.

Today was a great day. A lot of food and pantry items went home with people today. It felt good to wish people a ‘Happy New Year’, knowing how rough 2020 has been. A fresh year may bring hope to many. Thank you for being such an important part of the program which has stepped in to fill the gap for about 3,500 people in this community.

Happy New Year!!!

Ken Carpenter
Director- Community Care, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family

Groceries for Families: Week 40 - Day 2

Groceries for Families: Week 40 - Day 3

Groceries for Families: Week 40 - Day 1