GROCERIES FOR FAMILIES

Supporting families affected by the pandemic with food, hygiene items, and other necessities

Jubilee REACH Communications 1/20/21 Jubilee REACH Communications 1/20/21

Groceries for Families: Week 43 - Day 2

Today was a much more comfortable day with the weather. The temperature was cold in the morning but not with the wet fog which made it worse. It actually was mild in the afternoon with a little sunshine. No complaints here! The morning started very slowly with deliveries trickling in, definitely due to the Presidential inauguration. After 10:30am or so, it picked up significantly and was steady until 12:30pm. Lots of groceries, pantry, and hygiene items coming in. Thank you, everyone. Families lined up early and kept a steady pace all afternoon. People seemed to be in a good mood. About 10 more families came off the waiting list today, which was nice to see. Another very good day.

Groceries today were provided by 24-Seven, Crossroads Bible, St. Louise, Bellevue Presbyterian, Calvary Chapel Eastside, Newport Covenant, Indian Fellowship, and Bellevue Christian Reformed churches, as well as the Rotary Club of Bellevue, the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club, and the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 240 orders were expected and 256 were actually delivered. Thank you for the extra groceries! All but 34 were given to families today. The rest will go out first tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who donated today.

The AM volunteers came from Bellevue Presbyterian Church today. All of the crew were veteran volunteers, so handled the busy, busy day very well. They brought in all the groceries and a steady flow of milk, as well as organized all the grocery bags, and packed the food. Well done and thank you, crew!

Food was purchased early this morning at Smart Food Services (formerly Cash & Carry). Along with the eggs from Costco, these items were bagged for the families. These are the contents: eggs, green pepper, bananas, tomatoes, carrots, onion, cucumber. Additionally, families were offered a choice of frozen meat. It has worked very well the past three weeks, while we await the return of food boxes.

Senior lunches went out yesterday to about 25 people in the community. Barb and her crew put together a weekly lovely lunch with lots of loving touches. We receive many pleasant comments back from the seniors. Thank you, Barb, Ashley, and Theresa.

An email from a family:

Greetings, the Toledo Family is so grateful to the people and organizations that make it possible for families to receive these groceries each week. Since COVID started my family has personally been affected by this pandemic, the groceries we have been receiving has helped us so much. We appreciate you!

A staff profile:

A picture is attached of Warren, who is a Jubilee REACH employee based at Sammamish High School as a Site Coach. Warren has been actively involved in the grocery program since the beginning and currently on Wednesdays, he works the 9am-12pm shift to support the AM crew of volunteers. His presence brings a strong leader and person with deep experience to lead a very busy part of the operation. Thank you, Warren!

Update on a family:

Many of you have been actively following the story of Shahin and her husband battling a recurrence of brain cancer. Over the weekend, he was rushed to Overlake with complications and has remained there since. They found a hole in his colon and are considering surgery. Shahin is staying at the hospital and has shared her worry. She knows people are hearing of her story, and she would welcome all prayers for their family. She did not come today for groceries, her normal day. Stay tuned. Please pray.

As written yesterday, we welcome the news of the USDA food boxes returning next week. It is certainly possible there is a delay of a day or two next week, and we will react accordingly if so. We will keep the communication coming. Please pray for Cascadia Produce. They are managing huge logistics to get food out to many, many people in King County and other parts of Washington. They are family owned and very good people, who understand their important role in helping people.

Thank you for another great day in ‘Groceries for Families’. Your continued support is making such a huge difference and impact in our community. It is needed. Thank you for all you are doing with your time, energy, and treasure.

Bless you all,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 1/19/21 Jubilee REACH Communications 1/19/21

Groceries for Families: Week 43 - Day 1

Week 21 starts with sunny skies and being very, very busy. The morning was bitter cold, with wet fog sticking to everything. When it finally burned off, the sun came out, and the temperature was tolerable while families were here. The morning was a flurry of people bringing groceries, pantry items, and hygiene items. Thank you everyone! The afternoon had a good size line from the beginning at 1:00pm, right up until 3:30pm. Everything went smoothly, and a lot of food went home with people. Great day!

Groceries were provided today by Awakening, Bellevue Christian Reformed, Covenant Presbyterian, East Shore Unitarian, Bellevue Presbyterian, Crossroads Bible, Cornerstone Fellowship, Creekside Covenant, Evangelical Chinese, and Westminster Chapel churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 182 orders were expected but 212 were delivered. Thank you for the extra. All went out to families today, along with another 16 orders carried over from last week. Very busy! Thank you to everyone who donated today.

The AM volunteers were from Westminster Chapel this morning. This group of 8 braved the cold, wet weather and managed to get everything done with time to spare. Thank you, crew!

Volunteers brought food from Safeway Thrasher’s Corner, QFC Crossroads, Whole Foods Bellevue, Trader Joes Overlake and Safeway Overlake over the past three days. The beginning of the week is always full with the extra foods donated by these store and adds great variety to the market. It will go out over the next three days. Thank you to all the volunteers who make this possible!

People who only see the pictures on this email, sometimes ask about the market, as often described here.

Simply, it is about 20 feet of tables set up in the main operation area where all extra food is displayed for families to “shop”.

Boxes are put under the tables to help with carrying. All the food which comes from grocery stores goes here.

It is a great way for families to be able to choose and to get a variety of foods not offered any other way. We require families to take their QFC cart to their car first, with all the groceries. Then, they can come back and go through the market once. It is very popular. See the picture to the right.

The Newport Hills and Newcastle neighborhoods did a food drive for the program over the weekend. They delivered it all this morning. It is such a great way to involved other people in the community to support the families here. Thank you everyone!

Maria brought beef soup for the crew today. Yum! We will enjoy it tomorrow.

USDA FOOD BOX UPDATE

The contracts for ‘Round 5’ of the ‘Farmers to Families’ were awarded today. https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-families-food-box In King County, Cascadia Produce was one of two winners and is the same company we partnered with in November & December during ‘Round 4’. This makes the transition very, very easy, as we have already submitted our need to Cascadia. They confirmed we will receive 240 food boxes on Tue, Wed, and Thu before 10am.

Wait…it gets even better. Cascadia has been working in advance to get their supply chain in order, anticipating winning the bid. They will be able to begin delivering boxes next week. Wow! That is a huge win for the GFF families.

This means milk and meat will be provided in these boxes next week. So this is the last week donors will need to bring the extra milk. We do not yet know the full contents of the boxes. Hopefully, it also includes eggs. More to come.

Round 4 will run through April, so we are covered the next 3+ months.

Additionally, our White Center, Seattle partners at El Dios Viviente Church (aka Jubilee West), will also receive 240 boxes each Tuesday and Saturday afternoon

Thank you for your prayers and continued support during this gap.

We begin week 21 of ‘Groceries for Families’ with 711 families in the program. Of the 60 families on the waiting list at the beginning of last week who were invited into the full program, so far 25 have come back. More will likely come this week. Last week 14 families were removed from the program, mostly due to lack of attendance. A new waiting list was started last week and there are now 13 families on it. The breakdown of families each day is 240 Tuesday, 243 Wednesday, and 228 Thursday.

Here is the breakdown of the number of people in each family: (families with 7 or more people receive two orders of groceries)

1= 9
2= 49
3= 108
4=186
5=190
6=109
7=27
8=24
9=4
10=3
11=1
12=0
13=1

Thank you for another great day in the ‘Groceries for Families’ program. As shared last week, the program has been extended to June 30, which will get through the school year. We are watching many markers to see if the program will begin to trend with fewer families. Getting the hospitality & restaurant industry back would have a huge impact.

Have a great evening, wherever this email finds you tonight.

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 1/14/21 Jubilee REACH Communications 1/14/21

Groceries for Families: Week 42 - Day 3

The last day of week 20 of V2 ends on a very positive note. The sun was shining…most of the day. The temperature was chilly but mostly tolerable. After the heavy rain Tuesday and the storm, the last two days of dry weather are very welcome. While the last two days had a line of families all afternoon, today was a much slower pace. After the initial line went through, the rest of the day had no more than 5 families in line and sometimes 0. By the end of the day, plenty of people came but it just felt different. The morning was a flurry of people dropping off groceries, pantry items, and milk. Thank you for the donations! Another great day here.

Groceries today were provided by Highland Covenant, Sacred Heart Parish & School, Overlake Park Presbyterian, Doxa, First United Methodist, Bellevue Presbyterian, Crossroads Bible, Newport Covenant and Lighthouse churches, as well as Rotary Bellevue Sunrise, Champions Foundation and the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 189 orders were delivered today and all went out to families today, along with a few carried over from yesterday. Thank you to everyone who donated today.

The AM volunteers were from Bellevue Christian Reformed Church today. This team of 9 worked hard receiving and organizing all the groceries, as well as milk & other items. They packed 135 food boxes, too. Thank you, crew!

Food was purchased today at Smart Foodservice which was packed into plastic shopping bags for each family. Each bag contains eggs, lettuce, tomatoes, bananas, green pepper, onion, carrots, and cucumber. We feel it is very important to provide fresh foods. Additionally, families were provided with frozen meat, given a choice of ham, beef, or chicken. Volunteers brought food from Whole Foods Bellevue this morning too. Volunteers also brought food from a supplier in Everett. Thank you, everyone!

Our partner in White Center, Seattle came this afternoon at 4pm. Pastor Gerardo at El Dios Viviente Church is supporting 400 families in their community, and we have been partners with them since the spring.

At the end of each week, we pass along as much food as possible for his crew to distribute. A picture is to the right of Gerardo (right) and Hector. Their van was full today with food which will reach families this afternoon. Please pray for him and their community. We are so blessed to be connected to them.

Thank you for the extra milk donations for the 2nd week. We will continue to rely on donors to provide milk for the next three weeks, approximately. We should have news on the USDA boxes next week.

One resourceful shopper has made arrangements with the Bridle Trails Grocery Outlet to help support the ‘Groceries for Families’ program. For each 5 GFF complete grocery orders purchased by a single shopper at their store, the owners (Annica & Mike), will donate 1 extra complete order. They are very enthusiastic to help support the families in this program. There is no limit, either. Additionally, they will pack the bags in advance for a shopper.

If you’d like to take advantage of this offer, call the store in advance and talk to Annica or Mike. Mention Jubilee REACH and make arrangements for a pick-up day/time. They will have the bags waiting for you.

Thank you, Rob!

Thank you for another great week. This program continues to amaze. There are so many of you pulling together to support about 3800 people in our community who are struggling because of the virus. Thank you, thank you, thank you…a million times, thank you.

Have a great evening and upcoming weekend,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 1/14/21 Jubilee REACH Communications 1/14/21

Groceries for Families: Week 42 - Day 2

After the rain yesterday and last night’s storm, today turned out to be a lovely day of weather. The sun came through most of the day and, while the temperatures were chilly, it was very tolerable to be outside. Lots of happy people streamed in all morning, dropping off groceries, milk, and hygiene items. Thank you everyone! The pace of families was very similar to yesterday. The line was full when the operation opened and stayed full all afternoon. The last families were served right at 3:30pm. It was a great day!

January 13, 2021

Groceries today were provided by Newport Covenant, Calvary Chapel Eastside, 24-Seven, Bellevue Presbyterian, St. Louise, Indian Fellowship, Crossroads Bible, and Bellevue Christian Reformed churches, as well as the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club, the Rotary Club of Bellevue, and the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 254 orders came in today, above the expected 246. Thank you for the extra orders! All but 30 went out to families today. These will carry over to go out first thing tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who donated today.

The fierce storm last night was merciful to Jubilee REACH. We did not lose power, which would have made things very difficult in preserving food. Of all the canopies outside, only the last carport in the row where families line up was impacted. It was turned about 40 degrees, with some of its tethers broken, but not damaged. Three volunteers came by 9am to put it back in place and inspect everything else. That everything withstood the storm so well is a testament to how well the structures were built & secured last fall. Thank you, Jeremy, Jeff, and Charlie for coming today.

The morning volunteers came from Bellevue Presbyterian Church, with a few subs added to round out the team. This group managed a very busy morning and got everything done on time. Thank you, crew!

We’ve welcomed back three Jubilee REACH staff veterans to the PM crew this week. Yesterday, Jubilee REACH Media and Communications Manager, Lois, joined the crew. Today, Jubilee REACH Event Manager, Ashley, was right in the middle of things all afternoon. (Some of you may know Ashley as the person who plans ‘Festival of Trees’ each fall.) Tomorrow, Jubilee REACH Investor Relations Coordinator, Liz, will be with us. All three were regulars in the spring and summer, but have been busy with other Jubilee REACH priorities during the fall. Now, they are back, and it’s great!

A few quick stories:

There is a family from Nicaragua which has been highlighted in this email in the past. Marcia (mar-SEE-uh) is the mom and has usually been the one to pick up groceries. She has been absent for a few months, which has been odd. Her husband has been coming to get groceries, but we don’t know him as well, so it’s hard to pick him out in the line. Yesterday, Marcia showed up, and it was truly a reunion. Denisse knows their family, so was very excited. We exchanged a nice hug, all of us very happy to be reunited. She doesn’t speak English, but Denisse explained that Marcia’s mom passed away, so she went to Nicaragua to manage the family plans. It was a hard few months, but she is happy to be back. We’ll start seeing her again each Tuesday. It showed the personal connection we feel too many of the families to miss her and then be so excited for her return.
Miriam has been a constant presence at Jubilee since the beginning and has a huge heart for helping others. She seems to be the community organizer for some of the families and will regularly pick up for multiple families. She certainly cares about the people living around her and does more than her share to bring food to people. We all adore her. She is friendly, laughs a lot, and is always happy to be at Jubilee. Today was no exception.
Some of you have asked about the Jewish family, which was often profiled in this email in the spring and especially the summer. They are still with us. They only eat fruit and vegetables, so don’t come for groceries like everyone else. The father, David, comes Tuesdays at 11am to go through the market area. This is when the market offers the most options which their family can use. We also invite him back when random fruits and vegetables show up at Jubilee. They seem to be doing well. Their daughter is happy with online school at Highland. What started as a rough relationship last spring, is a solid friendship of trust now.

Thank you for another great day. This program continues to roll along. If there is anyone you’d like to invite to get involved, such as friends, neighbors, family, feel free to utilize the Jubilee Friends sign-up list for groceries: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0b49a5aa2ba3fd0-jubilee.

For those of you in the area without power tonight, we all hope you stay warm and get power back on soon.

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 1/13/21 Jubilee REACH Communications 1/13/21

Groceries for Families: Week 42 - Day 1

Here we are already at week 20 of Version 2 of ‘Groceries for Families’, which is week 42 from the beginning in March. Today’s weather brought warmer temperatures and lots & lots of rain. The lawn where the families line up is waterlogged. Thankfully, the layer of straw keeps people above the standing water. The morning was very, very busy with lots of happy people dropping off groceries, milk, and pantry items. Thank you, everyone! Wow! Families filled every cone position at the 1:00pm opening time, and the line stayed long until it finally ended right at 3:30pm. It was great to see so many people coming. Great day!

January 12, 2021

Groceries today were provided by Crossroads Bible, Awakening, Bellevue Christian Reformed, Covenant Presbyterian, Cornerstone Fellowship, Bellevue Presbyterian, East Shore Unitarian, Evangelical Chinese, Creekside Covenant, and Westminster Chapel. A total of 180 orders were expected and 199 were actually delivered. Thank you for the extras! All 199 went out to families today, along with 35 orders carried over from last week. Busy day!!! Thank you to everyone who donated today.

At the beginning of the week, there are lots of food deliveries:

Volunteers brought donated food from Safeway Thrasher’s Corner
Volunteers brought donated food from QFC Crossroads yesterday and today
Purchased eggs were delivered by Costco (42 cases of 15 dozen eggs in cartons)
Volunteers brought donated food from Safeway Overlake
Volunteers brought donated food from Trader Joe’s Overlake
Purchased food was delivered from Smart Foodservice, which is the fresh produce

Most of this food will be divided between Tue, Wed, and Thu. All of the food brought by volunteers fills the market, so people have a variety and can choose for themselves. It is wonderful. Thank you to everyone who helps make this happen.

The AM volunteers came from Cornerstone Fellowship Church today. This team of 8 was busy from the start and worked hard right up to the final bell. They sorted all the incoming groceries, packed food boxes, and handled all the milk. Thank you, crew!

We’re continuing to watch the USDA Food Box program unfold. Bids are being submitted now by distributors. We should know within a week who in King County received the big. We will work to get on their list to receive boxes each day. Once bids are awarded, it will take 2-3 weeks for supply chains to form. You can follow things here: https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-families-food-box. We are awaiting ‘Round 5’. Stay tuned!

A picture of Ken wearing a ‘New Family Sticker’ on the right. When a family is added to the program from the waiting list, we ask them to wear the sticker while they go through the operation, so the crew knows they need extra assistance. It works so well and was very visible today with new families entering the program. Here are the steps:

The families received an email yesterday, saying a spot has opened for them in the program. They are invited to come from 1-3pm on their designated day.
The family arrives today and waits in line with everyone else.
When they reach the front, Denisse greets them and replaces their ‘waiting list’ orange ID card with a ‘GFF’ white ID card. She hands them a slip so they can choose pantry items and explains the process. She gives them a sticker and then walks them the next 10 feet so they go in the right direction.
Next, Barb greets them at the ‘Dish Soap and Cooking Oil’ station. Here she gives them a new bottle of dish soap and a new bottle of cooking oil, explaining they can bring them back weekly to refill.
Next, one of the crew greets them and takes their pantry slip, escorting them to the very front of the line.
While their pantry items are filled, another crew greets them and starts to fill their QFC shopping cart. They are given a choice of meat and milk. All items are loaded into the cart, and the crew explains what each of them is.
Next, the market attendant greets them and explains they can take their cart to the car first, and then return to shop through the market. After shopping in the market, they are wished a good day by everyone who sees them.

Watching this happen is beautiful. At each step, the person feels important and welcomed. They smile and are clearly grateful for the extra attention. We are glad they are here!

We begin this week with 702 families in the GFF program, down slightly from last week. With 60 families on the waiting list, we made the decision to invite them all into the program this week. Not all will come, but we expect about 30-35 will. Today, there were 15 new families coming off the waiting list into the full program. A new waiting list has now started and already has 3 families on it. We want to balance the resources of the program with the desire to help as many families as possible. It has been four weeks since families were added, so the timing feels right. Please pray for these new families.

When Version 2 of ‘Groceries for Families’ started on September 1, the timeline was for it to go until January 31, which is halfway through the school year. At that time, we would reassess the situation and decide what to do. That decision has been made, which is to extend another 5 months until June 30, which will cover the full school year. We’re in the process of asking all partner churches and organizations to consider continuing. So far, the response is very positive. If you are interested in receiving details about how this decision was made and what markers we will be watching for over the next 5 months, we are happy to share them. Just reply to the email with such a request, and we’ll send it to you.

Thank you for your continued support of these sweet families. Thank you for the extra milk, too.

Bless you all,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 1/8/21 Jubilee REACH Communications 1/8/21

Groceries for Families: Week 41 - Day 3

A second straight day of dry weather and mild temperatures was most welcome. We can certainly deal with rain, wind, and cold, but their absence certainly makes the operation easier. The morning was a typical day, with lots and lots of people coming to drop off groceries and pantry items. Thank you! We love seeing your happy faces. The afternoon started slowly, with only a modest line at 1:00pm. By 1:30pm, the line was gone, and all was quiet. Strange. By 2:00pm, things started to pick up, and the line stayed lengthy until 3:20pm. By the end, the attendance numbers were fairly normal. The last day of the week was a good one.

January 7, 2021

Groceries were provided today by Rotary Bellevue Sunrise, Champions Foundation and the Jubilee Friends group, as well as Crossroads Bible, Highland Covenant, Doxa, First United Methodist, Sacred Heart Parish & School, Bellevue Presbyterian, Overlake Park Presbyterian and Lighthouse churches. A total of 186 orders came in and all went out to families today, along with quite a few carried over from yesterday. Thank you to everyone who donated today.

Fresh fruit and vegetable were purchased early this morning at Smart Food Service, which was paired with eggs from Costco Business and frozen meat from QFC. All was bagged up for each family, with a choice of beef, chicken, turkey or pork today. Donors brought lots of milk with the groceries today…Thank you! Families went home with a very good assortment of foods, which is very balanced and nutritious. Thank you for helping make this new operation work so well!

The AM volunteers came from Bellevue Presbyterian and Crossroads Bible churches. It was a smaller group, so the six of them worked extra hard to get everything done. Thank you, crew!

Yakult donated 30 cases of probiotic beverages today, which were very popular with the families. Thank you!

KG Investment Properties did a food drive recently and delivered a large amount of non-perishable foods today. Thank you!

Erwin has been highlighted a few times over the past nine months, so you may recognize his name. He comes on Thursdays and usually has to come around 5:30pm because he works at a local downtown Bellevue restaurant. He lost his job in March but has been able to get 20-30 hours since the summer. Two weeks ago, the restaurant closed again, so he has no more work. He is holding on until the restaurant reopens and hopes to be rehired. He has a wife and two young children. Like Jose, in yesterday’s email, Erwin’s is a very typical story. He’s a great guy and has become a friend. Please pray for his family.
We’ve been following the family of Shahin, whose husband is battling brain cancer. He came home from Overlake two days ago, and it has been rough. They are getting their apartment manager to add grab bars throughout the home. Shahin decided against a rehabilitation facility because she would not be allowed to see him there. So, she is caring for him at home. It is a scary time for them. Please pray for his healing. Pray for Shahin and their teenage daughter.

This week ended on a very good note. Thank you for all the support, including the extra milk. We will continue to rely on donors to bring milk this month. Feel free to drop it off Friday, Monday, or any morning next week. We have refrigeration.

Blessings to you all,

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

Groceries for Families began in March 2020 to serve families financially affected by the pandemic. Over 25 organizations and churches have partnered with Jubilee REACH to provide families with groceries, hygiene items, and supplies.

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