April 8, 2021

The sun came back! Yeah! After shivering yesterday, the warmth some-what returned today. The morning had a chill, but it wore off to a delightful afternoon with plenty of sun. We finish this week on a very strong note, with a much busier Thursday than normal. This makes up for the slower Tuesday this week and then some. The morning was busy with lots of happy people dropping off groceries, pantry, and hygiene items. Thank you, everyone! The afternoon had a long line to start and a steady line all afternoon, right up until 3:00pm. About 10 families even came after hours. A lot of food and pantry items went home with people today. Great day!

Groceries today were provided by Overlake Park Presbyterian, Sacred Heart School & Parish, Bellevue Presbyterian, Crossroads Bible, Lighthouse, Victory Court, Doxa, First United Methodist and Highland Covenant churches, as well as the Rotary Bellevue Sunrise Club, Champions Foundation and the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 188 orders came in today and all went out to families, along with 52 orders carried over from yesterday. Wow! Thank you to everyone who donated today.

Food boxes arrived about 9:30am today, which is about our normal Thursday time. The boxes are delivered from downtown Kent by Medosweet Farms. They are in partnership with Cascadia Produce, which has the USDA contract for this area. As of right now, the boxes are confirmed through April 30. We’ll wait to see if it is extended. You can follow along at https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-families-food-box.

The AM volunteers were primarily from Overlake Park Presbyterian Church, with some others joining them. This group of new volunteers worked hard all morning receiving the incoming deliveries and packing 100 food boxes. They did it with joy and laughter. Thank you, crew!

Thank you for all the flowers: tulips, daffodils, and many others. Volunteers split the larger bouquets into smaller bouquets. About ¾ of the ladies received flowers today. Such fun!

A few stories and updates:

Lily returned to take more sandwiches down to the Seattle waterfront to hand them out to homeless people. Other than getting a parking ticket, it was a total success. Two boxes of sandwiches were handed out. Lily has a heart of gold and just wants to help. We prayed over her before she left, which filled her with courage.

Shahin will come to Jubilee tomorrow to volunteer with us. She asked the other day, saying how difficult it is for her to be in their home. She gets filled with so many emotions, that she just wants to leave. She had her car repaired recently by Auto Angels at Bellevue Presbyterian, which dropped some stress for her. She will also start counseling soon, which is being covered by a local church. Thank you for those of you coming around her and for all who are praying for her.

Arturo is a single guy who entered the GFF program over the winter. He shares his food with his mother and sister, who live nearby. They are originally from Peru and came to the US in 1999 on a green card – now are citizens. He’s a very nice man who lives in Bellevue and pre-pandemic worked at a dentist office in Bellevue. Work has been very slow to return, which is frustrating to him. He will likely be moving in with his mother soon, to share on rent. He is grateful for the food assistance for their entire family.

Thank you for another great week of ‘Groceries for Families’. Your time, energy & treasure is making such a difference in the lives of these families. Hopefully, your heart is connected to it, as well, and your life feels different because of it.

Have a great weekend,

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

Groceries for Families: Week 54 - Day 3

Groceries for Families: Week 55 - Day 1

Groceries for Families: Week 54 - Day 2