January 7, 2021

A second straight day of dry weather and mild temperatures was most welcome. We can certainly deal with rain, wind, and cold, but their absence certainly makes the operation easier. The morning was a typical day, with lots and lots of people coming to drop off groceries and pantry items. Thank you! We love seeing your happy faces. The afternoon started slowly, with only a modest line at 1:00pm. By 1:30pm, the line was gone, and all was quiet. Strange. By 2:00pm, things started to pick up, and the line stayed lengthy until 3:20pm. By the end, the attendance numbers were fairly normal. The last day of the week was a good one.

Groceries were provided today by Rotary Bellevue Sunrise, Champions Foundation and the Jubilee Friends group, as well as Crossroads Bible, Highland Covenant, Doxa, First United Methodist, Sacred Heart Parish & School, Bellevue Presbyterian, Overlake Park Presbyterian and Lighthouse churches. A total of 186 orders came in and all went out to families today, along with quite a few carried over from yesterday. Thank you to everyone who donated today.

Fresh fruit and vegetable were purchased early this morning at Smart Food Service, which was paired with eggs from Costco Business and frozen meat from QFC. All was bagged up for each family, with a choice of beef, chicken, turkey or pork today. Donors brought lots of milk with the groceries today…Thank you! Families went home with a very good assortment of foods, which is very balanced and nutritious. Thank you for helping make this new operation work so well!

The AM volunteers came from Bellevue Presbyterian and Crossroads Bible churches. It was a smaller group, so the six of them worked extra hard to get everything done. Thank you, crew!

Yakult donated 30 cases of probiotic beverages today, which were very popular with the families. Thank you!

KG Investment Properties did a food drive recently and delivered a large amount of non-perishable foods today. Thank you!

Erwin has been highlighted a few times over the past nine months, so you may recognize his name. He comes on Thursdays and usually has to come around 5:30pm because he works at a local downtown Bellevue restaurant. He lost his job in March but has been able to get 20-30 hours since the summer. Two weeks ago, the restaurant closed again, so he has no more work. He is holding on until the restaurant reopens and hopes to be rehired. He has a wife and two young children. Like Jose, in yesterday’s email, Erwin’s is a very typical story. He’s a great guy and has become a friend. Please pray for his family.
We’ve been following the family of Shahin, whose husband is battling brain cancer. He came home from Overlake two days ago, and it has been rough. They are getting their apartment manager to add grab bars throughout the home. Shahin decided against a rehabilitation facility because she would not be allowed to see him there. So, she is caring for him at home. It is a scary time for them. Please pray for his healing. Pray for Shahin and their teenage daughter.

This week ended on a very good note. Thank you for all the support, including the extra milk. We will continue to rely on donors to bring milk this month. Feel free to drop it off Friday, Monday, or any morning next week. We have refrigeration.

Blessings to you all,

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

Groceries for Families: Week 41 - Day 3

Groceries for Families: Week 42 - Day 1

Groceries for Families: Week 41 - Day 2