December 30, 2020

The holiday week comes to a close on a very good note. The rain returned today but was very tolerable, especially with little wind. The temperature was in the 40’s, so much better than the past two days. Deliveries of groceries and pantry items came in all morning from very happy people. For being a holiday week, there has been no drop off in donations. Thank you!! Families came all afternoon, with only a slight lull in the middle. The last 30 minutes was very busy. Although some families were gone this week with the holidays, the overall attendance was very strong.

Groceries today came from 24-Seven, St. Louise, Indian Fellowship, Crossroads Bible, Bellevue Christian Reformed, Bellevue Presbyterian, Newport Covenant, Victory Court and Calvary Chapel Eastside churches, as well as Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club, Rotary Club of Bellevue and the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 236 orders came in today and all went out to families today. Thank you to everyone who donated.

The last delivery of food boxes arrived very early today. These have come from Cascadia Produce and Medosweet Farms. It would be great if they would also receive the next USDA contract, if it is issued. We will see what happens in the coming weeks. More information will be coming.

The morning volunteers came from Bellevue Presbyterian Church. Joining them was Father John Madigan from Sacred Heart Parish. There is a great picture of Father John with some aptly branded potatoes. They all worked very hard with the inflow of groceries, pantry items, and packing food boxes. Thank you crew!

Volunteers brought food from QFC Crossroads today. Other volunteers brought food from the Lake Samm Foursquare Food Bank. The market was nice and full with a good variety today. Thank you!

A crew of 10 volunteers worked from 3:30-5:00pm to close the operation for the long weekend and get it ready for Monday. The place looks great – nice and organized. Thank you, crew!

A special picture was drawn for us today, delivered by Alexa and her mom. We will hang this on the ‘wall of fame’ in the main lobby. She is a true sweetie!

Some reflections as 2020 comes to an end:

‘Groceries for Families’ started on March 23 with 20 families coming that first day and 60 in the program. The committed length of time was eight weeks. (The pandemic will be done by then…we can all do anything for eight weeks. Ha!) Then it went to 12 weeks. Then it went for the summer, with an exit plan in place. Numbers did actually trend downward in mid-July, but by late July/early August they were going back up. Then it extended into the fall & winter to at least the end of January. As we stand now, it has been just over 9 months. Wow.

It really feels like more than just a program at this point. Truly, we are all doing life together: Jubilee, donors, families, community, all of us. If you ever go on a mission trip, you learn it is much more than just building something or doing a specific project. It is about doing life together with a group of people you otherwise wouldn’t know. You invest your time and money to show that you care enough to come there in person to share a bit of life. That matters. That’s what this feels like now.

We’ve watched life happen. Women who were pregnant in the spring, now have babies. One woman told us yesterday her baby is celebrating 6 months today. We remember when she was pregnant, and then disappeared for a month in late June/July to have the baby. Wow!

We’ve listened to families who share when someone in their family dies. Some are local. Many are in other countries, impossible to visit. We’ve watched them grieve. It hurts.

We’ve gotten to know people donating each week and also followed along in their lives. Some have left for a month or more, and then returned. We celebrate that! Many have opened their heart to what this program has meant to them. What a gift to hear such stories.

Lives are crossing, which otherwise would never intersect. Such a blessing.

We don’t know what the future holds. We all hope 2021 is a better year. The GFF continues and is supported by so many passionate people. You! Thank you. We never could have envisioned this back in March. The number of pivots made is countless. We will continue to pay attention to where we are called, which doors open, which doors close, and will step.

It continues to feel like this is exactly where we all should be in a time like this.

Jubilee REACH will be closed until Monday. There are some bins of ice at the back doors if anyone needs to drop off milk. We’ll swing by each day to check and bring them into the refrigerator. If you can wait, next week is also fine.

Thank you for a great week and a great nine months.

Happy New Year!

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

Groceries for Families: Week 40 - Day 3

Groceries for Families: Week 41 - Day 1

Groceries for Families: Week 40 - Day 2