April 1, 2021

After such a week of sun & dry, it’s hard to remember how tough things can get with rain & wind. We’ll take it. Spring seems to be here, at least this week, and it certainly makes for a happy Easter week. The chill of the morning quickly faded today and gave way to a very pleasant day. The shade of the building keeps some of the warmth away, but the sun brightens everything. The morning was very busy with incoming groceries, pantry items, and Easter bags. Thank you, everyone! The afternoon was a typical Thursday, with a steady line of families most of the time. It was a very smooth operation, with lots of happy people here. Great day!

Groceries today were provided by Sacred Heart Parish & School, Bellevue Presbyterian, Overlake Park Presbyterian, Doxa, Highland Covenant, Lighthouse, Crossroads Bible and Victory Court churches, as well as Rotary Bellevue Sunrise, Champions Foundation and the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 195 orders came in today and all went out to families, along with 26 carried over from yesterday. Thank you to everyone who donated today.

Food boxes were delivered today at 9:30am, which was much better than yesterday’s noon. The AM volunteers from Sacred Heart Parish worked hard all morning bringing in the groceries and Easter bags, as well as packing 100 food boxes. Well done and thank you, crew!

Each morning families that are here (Tue, Wed, Thu). we purchase fresh produce (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, bananas, carrots, and garlic) and eggs. While the USDA food boxes are good, they lack fresh produce and eggs, which we long ago decided are important to provide. Money donated toward the ‘Groceries for Families’ program is used here. The gallon of milk is removed from the box, and all these items are added to space opened. Thank you to everyone who donates to make this possible.

Easter bags came in for a third and final day. The common feedback is people had a lot of fun putting them together. They were all so cute and special. Thank you for your time, treasure, and energy to make this possible. A majority donated this week went to the families at Jubilee. We also provided some to our partner church in West Seattle which is supporting 400+ families. Tomorrow, the last few boxes will go to Emerald City Bible Fellowship in Rainier Valley. This is Pastor Harvey Drake’s church, where someone has shot a few weeks ago. Children in all of these communities will have a very happy Easter. Thank you so much!

At the end of today, our two partners came to pick up the remaining food boxes to distribute elsewhere. St. Monica Parish on Mercer Island came, as did El Dios Viviente Church in White Center, Seattle. We are blessed to have a strong relationship with them. Please pray for their ministries.

A few updates and stories:

Angelina brought beef burritos and El Salvadoran pasta salad for the crew today. She brought mild hot sauce for the first time, too. Some of us missed the mind-blowing spice of her other batches. She continues to love us through her cooking.

A family dropped off three thank you cards from their children. Pictures of the front and insides are below. So cute.

The Easter bags were very, very popular today. Lots of parents had happy faces because of them. She is someone we all know. She has a friendly and loud personality, so we hear her coming before we see her. She was overjoyed today to have gifts for her 8 and 10-year-old children. Thank you!

We end this week on a very positive note, with a steady operation and a wonderful feeling of Easter. Thank you for all your continued support and love poured into these sweet families. We’re all taking it one day at a time. While we hope there is a time coming when many can support themselves again, until then, this community has wrapped around them in care and prayer. Please continue to pray for them all.

Have a great weekend,

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

Groceries for Families: Week 53 - Day 3

Groceries for Families: Week 54 - Day 1

Groceries for Families: Week 53 - Day 2