May 25, 2021

Today marks the beginning of week 61 of ‘Groceries for Families’. What started with an 8-week window in March 2020, has continued to support these families for 14+ months. Wow! Today’s weather was just great for the operation. Cool, but not cold, temperatures greeted us this morning. It warmed up progressively all day, but not too warm, giving way to a lovely afternoon. The parking lot was busy this morning with lots of people happily dropping off groceries, pantry, and hygiene items. Thank you, everyone! Families kept a steady pace up all afternoon. It felt slow and calm, yet by the end of the day, a normal amount of food was given out. A very happy day here!

Groceries today were provided by Bellevue Christian Reformed, Bellevue Presbyterian, Crossroads Bible, Cornerstone Fellowship, Westminster Chapel, Covenant Presbyterian, Creekside Covenant, Saint Madeleine Sophie, and East Shore Unitarian churches, as well as Bellevue Kiwanis and the Jubilee Friend group. A total of 174 orders came in today and all went out to families. Thank you to everyone who donated.

The AM volunteers were from Bellevue Christian Reformed Church, with a good mix of returning and new volunteers. They worked hard all morning receiving deliveries, sorting grocery store food, making flower bouquets, and packing food boxes. The food boxes arrived late at 11:30am. They worked overtime to pack one pallet of 48 boxes with fresh produce. Well done and thank you, crew!

We want to thank the stores and volunteers who bring deliveries at the beginning of each week: Safeway Thrashers Corner from Kathy & Dale; Whole Foods Bellevue from Fred; QFC Crossroads from Mike, Gil & Kyle; Safeway Overlake from Duanne & Bob via Renewal Food Bank; Trader Joes Overlake from Fred; Local Distributor from Mike and Gil. Thank you everyone for your time each week. This extra food fills the market daily. Lots of flowers came in yesterday and today. Volunteers made small bouquets from them, so everyone was offered flowers today.

The USDA Food Boxes will be ending nationwide next Monday, so this is our last week to receive them. The greatest loss within the boxes is milk and meat. We’re asking if donors can provide gallons of milk (2% or Whole) each day, at least through July 1, beginning next week. We have been filling the freezers with meat all spring, so have a good supply to use in June. We will be adding lettuce to the fresh produce purchased each morning. We’re expecting to see fresh produce from local farms start to be available, as it was last summer. Hopefully, this will come in June. The overall operation shouldn’t be impacted much by this change. Thank you for the milk, as it is a key essential provided for families.

Senior lunches were delivered today to 32 people in the community. A very tasty lunch of chicken alfredo and many extras went out with Barb, Gina, and Theresa. There is a lot of love poured into these meals each week. Thank you, ladies!

A few stories and updates:

A few weeks ago a very special thank you poster was given to the crew by nine-year-old Hadassah. (photo on the right for reference) In it, she mentioned wanting to come to pray with us, which she’s seen from her place in line with her mom. Today, she came. Her poster is taped to the wall, so we read it out loud. She then led us in prayer, in English, not Romanian. Her mom was surprised and impressed. It was a lovely prayer of thanksgiving. We returned the thanks with a stuffed animal and chocolate for her and her two younger sisters. What a sweet family!

There are a few families from Turkmenistan in the program. One woman has learned enough English to communicate well and is quite delightful to chat with. Today she showed up a young lady (17) whom she introduced as her nephew (we helped her learn the word ‘niece’.) Her niece just arrived from Turkmenistan because her mother won a green card lottery. The country is actually closed for people to leave, so there was a tiny window for them to come. Her aunt was overjoyed to have her there and simply couldn’t stop smiling. There are now 8 people in their home, so they’ve become a ‘large’ family for GFF. Please pray for them, as they make this adjustment.

When cones go out around 10am, families are allowed to place bags to hold their place in line. Always waiting in her car is Maraya, who is very sweet and has a daughter named Vanessa, who has made many-colored drawings for the crew. Today, she looked very sad. Asking her, she shared that her mother (75) has come from Yakima for a very serious operation this Friday at Harborview. She is worried. Furthermore, her father and brother are also not well. She is caring for all of them and feels the burden, along with her concern. A nice hug helped, but she is in need of prayers. Please keep them all in your prayers this week.

We’re continuing to communicate with families about the transition to the GFF program. All are invited to come talk with us Mondays or Fridays if they will need support after July 1. Last Friday about 10 famliies came and another 10 came yesterday. We’re up to about 55 families so far, which have come to talk. The last opportunity will be June 7. We expect to have the framework of the next GFF version by June 11 to all partners.

We begin this week with 639 families registered with ‘Groceries for Families’ and another 32 on the waiting list. The slight downward trend continues. Overall, the attendance is still about the same, as it is families who don’t consistenly come which are dropping off.

Thank you for a great start to the week. Many of you are asking about and anticipating the details of the next version of GFF. As you know, we are seeking to be led to it by talking with the families first and then talking to the donors. Through both sides, we expect the operational framework and level of support to come together. Not overcontrolling it feels to be in line with the full history of GFF from the beginning. Please join us in prayer and discernment in the coming weeks.

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 61 - Day 1

Groceries for Families: Week 61 - Day 2

Groceries for Families: Week 60 - Day 3