March 17, 2021

Don’t let the spring temperature of the afternoon fool you about the morning…it was very cold until about 11am. This was fine for keeping food cold, but hands were taking a beating today. Finally, the warmth took over, and the afternoon had jackets off. Some people were in short sleeves. Nice to see. Today was a busy day but much more in control than last Wednesday…whew! The morning was a constant flow of happy people dropping off groceries, pantry, and hygiene items. Thank you, everyone! Busy day! Families lined up early and kept a steady pace all afternoon. The last 45 minutes were the busiest of all. A lot of food and pantry items went out today. Great day!

Groceries today were provided by 24-Seven, Indian Fellowship, Calvary Chapel Eastside, St. Louise, Newport Covenant, Bellevue Christian Reformed, Crossroads Bible and Bellevue Presbyterian churches, as well as the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club, the Rotary Club of Bellevue and the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 249 orders came in today and all went out to families. Thank you to everyone who donated today!

The AM volunteers were from Crossroads Bible Church. This group of ladies worked hard on the busiest morning of the week! Wow! They processed all the incoming groceries, which filled the lobby by the end. They packed 120 food boxes with fresh produce, which is physical work. Well done and thank you, crew!

Two deliveries from Amazon Go and a local Distributor filled the market very well today. It offered families a nice variety of extra items. Thank you, Rick, Gil, and Mike!

All five pallets were quickly covered in ice gel packs and wrapped in moving blankets shortly after delivery at 9am. (see picture to the right) Each pallet was unwrapped only as we needed to access it. The last pallet at 3:00pm was still very cold. Success! We flipped the whole food prep area, so as to keep the blankets dry if it rains and for ease of flow. It worked very well, for day one. We will adjust going forward.

We received word from Cascadia Produce that the USDA boxes have been extended to April 30. This is the first time the government has been ahead of the curve. Very good news for Jubilee and other programs around the country. This has to be the best use of taxpayer money ever. Food directly to people who need it. You can follow along here: https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-families-food-box.

A teacher from Bellevue Christian School brought a large stack of handmade cards from students, written to families, offering encouragement and love.

We put each one in a grocery bag today. Imagine the smiles when people found them this afternoon. Thank you, class!!!

A few stories and updates:

As shared yesterday, Rose got her 3rd day of work at Home Depot this week (Tue, Wed, Thu), so came early this morning to get groceries today. Rose is a very sweet person and one we all enjoy. She is originally from Tanzania and has four young children at home. Her husband suddenly died almost 1 year ago, in mid-March, from a heart condition, so she is dealing with so much more than just the pandemic. He is actually buried across the street from Jubilee at Sunset Hills Memorial Park. Whenever she receives flowers here, she takes them to his grave. Beautiful. Please continue to pray for her.

Ken’s mom was here volunteering today, visiting from Spokane. She drove all morning and arrived just in time for her shift. They are a good example of how people can support ‘Groceries for Families’ from a long distance, having donated since the beginning. We put her to work packing food boxes. She did great!

Maria brought the crew lunch today, which will actually be served tomorrow. It is a chicken stew, made from things she received at Jubilee. Normally, she comes on Tuesday but couldn’t make it yesterday. She continues to love the crew through her cooking.

Thanks for another great day in ‘Groceries for Families’. We look forward to the day when families can again fully support themselves. Until then, this program will continue to step into the gap. Thank you for all you are doing. Hopefully, you are finding joy and meaning through serving.

Have a great evening, wherever this email finds you.

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

Groceries for Families: Week 51 - Day 2

Groceries for Families: Week 51 - Day 2

Groceries for Families: Week 51 - Day 1