Groceries for Families: Week 65 - Day 1
June 22, 2021
Here we are at the beginning of week 65 of ‘Groceries for Families’, reaching all the way back to March 23, 2020. We seem to be living a blessed life with the weather still. We missed the heat of yesterday and what is coming this weekend. Today was warm but plenty nice, with a breeze coming through most of the day. Doors were open and fans were on all day, which kept the air moving. The morning was busy in the parking lot with lots of happy people dropping off donations. Thank you, everyone. One of the volunteers commented today how blessed people seem to feel by bringing donations. It is easily seen. The afternoon was slower than a normal Tuesday. In the end, we were about 35-40 families short, with no explanation why. Perhaps they will come tomorrow or Thursday, which has happened before. Despite being slow, the operation is running smoothly, and it was a good day here.
Covenant Presbyterian Church
Jubilee Friends Delivery
Groceries today were provided by Creekside Covenant, St. Madeleine Sophie, Bellevue Christian Reformed, East Shore Unitarian, Bellevue Presbyterian, Covenant Presbyterian, Crossroads Bible, Cornerstone Fellowship and Westminster Chapel churches, as well as Bellevue Kiwanis, Rotary Bellevue Sunrise and Jubilee Friends. A total of 172 came in today and all went out except for 37. The remaining will go out first thing tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who donated.
The AM crew was from Overlake Park Presbyterian Church today. There was a mix of returning and new volunteers, which is always fun. They worked hard receiving deliveries, organizing groceries, organizing market foods, making flower bouquets and packing bags of produce. Well done and thank you, crew!
Senior Lunches
As we do each Tuesday, we want to thank the stores who donate food and volunteers who bring it at the beginning of each week. Rick brings food from Amazon Fresh. Kathy & Dale bring food from Safeway Thrasher’s Corner. Gil and Mike bring food from QFC Crossroads. Fred brings food from Whole Foods Bellevue. Fred brings food from Trader Joe’s Overlake. Mike and Gil bring food from a Local Distributor. This food fills the daily market and adds a lot of variety for families. Thank you, everyone.
Senior lunches were delivered to 31 people in the community today. Barb is on vacation, so her crew filled in. A very tasty lunch of stuffed pasta shells and lots of extra goodies filled each bag. Thank you to Gina, Theresa and Sheri for doing extra and making all the deliveries.
Tomato Crew
A local gardener donated about 200 tomato plants today, through the Creekside Covenant garden. Katherine lives in Redmond and has a heart for helping others grow food. Cindy is the Creekside gardener who connected her to Jubilee. Pots, soil and stakes were donated. Katherine, Cindy, Carol and Bob were here all afternoon potting plants and giving them away to families. The PM volunteers stayed a little late to pot more to get them ready for tomorrow. Families were very excited to have tomato plants, ready for their decks and patios. Thank you, Katherine, Cindy and volunteers!
International Community Health Services (ICHS) held a vaccine clinic here. Only 1 person was vaccinated today, but the 4 person crew was not discouraged. They invited lots of people to come back tomorrow. If nothing else, it shows the families there are people who care about them getting easy access to vaccines. Thank you, ICHS.
Vaccine Clinic
A few stories and updates:
A note from a family: “My husband didn’t have a job when the pandemic started and has struggled to find good work. It has felt like we’ve been living day to day for a long time. With your help providing essentials, we’ve been able to pay rent and utilities. Thank you so much! We’re praying for you guys and for God’s divine provision.”
A note from a family: “At the beginning, both my husband and me were laid off. Only my husband is back to work, making half of what he used to. He was laid of 7-8 months. Now he is hourly, not salary, and only gets 31 hours max per week. But Jubilee has kept us floating. We were lost, saying, “Now what”, with credit cards stretched with too much debt. Then came Jubilee! We needed diapers at the start, but now our daughter is out of them. We have a special needs son. You give us what we need and a very nice variety. Thank you, from our family.”
Paul is a man whose family we’ve profiled before. He came late today with his three children, while his wife is working. He told us they are all living in a very small apartment. They have been working toward getting in a home, so the kids have more space and a yard. He knows there are people supporting this program. He asked if everyone would please pray for them, and that God would provide a new home for his family.”
Here are some points for everyone to know about Phase 3:
162 families have now come to talk to us about continuing; all of them will be registered to Phase 3
Of these, 135 live in Bellevue, 13 live in Redmond and the rest are in the surrounding cities
The largest family size is 8 (3 total) and the smallest is 1 (3 total); the average size remains about 4.5 people.
We’ll be checking in with all families every two months to see how they are doing.
34 families are on the waiting list; these are families which came after June 7 to say they need help after July 1; we’ll be making decisions in the coming weeks about this group
The operation will be open for families each Wednesday from 10am-3pm.
First day will be July 7, with a current extension to December 31.
The current grocery bag item list will remain the same, including a gallon of milk and a rotating hygiene item.
Grocery donations would be best dropped of Tuesday mornings from 7am-12pm.
The operation will be set up like a market, allowing for a slower pace and more choices for families.
New identification cards will be issued to all Phase 3 families.
Pantry items will remain the same
New donation options of bulk produce and perishable items will be available. (details later)
Today’s PM Crew
We begin this week with 544 families registered with ‘Groceries for Families’. This is decline of 53 from just last week, which has a lot to do with us removing families from the program who simply aren’t coming regularly. There is no longer a waiting list for the current version. With this week and next week remaining, we communicated to families today a reminder of the timeline. Please pray for those who are leaving the program that they will be able to sustain themselves.
Thank you for your continued support and prayers. It’s great to be serving together.
Enjoy your warm evening, wherever this email finds you,
Ken Carpenter
Director- Community Care, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family
