GROCERIES FOR FAMILIES

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 4/1/21 Jubilee REACH Communications 4/1/21

Groceries for Families: Week 53 - Day 2

Day 2 of the week was much like the first, with a busy operation and lovely weather. The morning was chilly, but it steadily gave way to a warm enough day. By the afternoon, it was very pleasant, especially in the sun. The morning was buzzing with lots of happy people dropping off groceries, pantry items, and Easter bags. It’s so great to see so many people coming to support this program. Thank you, everyone! The afternoon was very busy, with a long line to start and a steady line right to the end. Lots and lots of food & pantry items went home with people today. Very smooth day.

March 31, 2021

Groceries today were provided by Indian Fellowship, Newport Covenant, Crossroads Bible, St. Louise Parish, Bellevue Presbyterian, Calvary Chapel Eastside, 24-Seven, 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 285 orders came in today (thank you for the extra!) and all but 35 went out to families today. The remainder will go out first thing tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who donated today.

Food boxes didn’t arrive until 12:00pm today. Gulp! Somehow, we were left off the delivery list, which has never happened before. At 10:30am we reached out to ask for an estimated arrival time, which discovered the error. Fortunately, Medosweet Farms was able to scramble to load a truck in downtown Kent and get here in time.

This delay left the AM volunteers from Bellevue Presbyterian Church with one less major task to complete – that of packing 100 food boxes. Wednesdays are busy enough with other things, that they found plenty to do. Thank you, crew! Food boxes were quickly packed by the PM crew, which started at noon. All was fine in the end.

Thank you for the wave of Easter bags brought to Jubilee today. Wow! The repeated comments from people were how fun it was to make them. Volunteers spent the morning receiving and sorting them in the library. The picture attached shows the bags ready to be handed out this afternoon. Three volunteers handled this and did an excellent job interacting with families. Thank you, volunteers!

A few quick updates and stories:

The Easter bags are extremely popular with families. You can see the joy in the faces of the parents. Speaking to Angelina, she expressed how happy she is to give her three children something on Easter. They celebrate the holiday but had nothing for their children special. Now they do. Tomorrow, she will bring the staff lunch, as her way to say thank you. She received an Easter bag and was able to choose her own, which she loved. Then she was given flowers for her mother, which resulted in the sweetest squeal of joy ever made. It was heard throughout the operation, and everyone turned to smile. After this picture was taken, she literally skipped her way through the market with a bag and flowers in hand. Such pure happiness.

Erwin sent an email with an update on his wife. They saw a specialist yesterday at Harborview. She now has a new inhaler, which seems to be improving her cough already. Although cancer has been ruled out, they are still trying to solve the mystery of what is making her ill. They are also concerned about their 21-year-old daughter, who lives in Seattle and is in a dangerous relationship. He has asked for continued prayers for their family.

A picture of Trenton is on the right. He is a new Jubilee associate as Community Care Specialist. He has long been involved at Jubilee through Lighthouse Church. Over the last month, he has been immersed in the grocery operation and is now able to run shifts, giving Ken shifts off. Say hi to him when you see him. He’ll also be running service projects in the community with volunteers. Welcome, Trenton!

There was a great article shared with us this week about the importance of diapers, in this time of need. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/17/parenting/diaper-bank-coronavirus.html It certainly captures that part of the ‘Groceries for Families’ program very well.

Thank you for another great day. Collectively, we are all making a difference in this community. May your heart be continually touched and changed by your involvement.

Enjoy the warm’ish evening,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 4/1/21 Jubilee REACH Communications 4/1/21

Groceries for Families: Week 53 - Day 1

We begin this week marking the first week of year 2 of ‘Groceries for Families’, aka Week 53. It sure felt like spring was arriving. The morning was chilly but it gave way to distinct feelings of warmer air. By the afternoon, it was very comfortable outside and especially nice in the sun. No wind and lots of sunshine. The morning was a steady stream of people bringing groceries, pantry items, and Easter bags. Thank you, everyone! The afternoon was very busy with families. The line was long to start and stayed consistent most of the afternoon. Great day here!

March 30, 2021

We begin this week marking the first week of year 2 of ‘Groceries for Families’, aka Week 53. It sure felt like spring was arriving. The morning was chilly but it gave way to distinct feelings of warmer air. By the afternoon, it was very comfortable outside and especially nice in the sun. No wind and lots of sunshine. The morning was a steady stream of people bringing groceries, pantry items and Easter bags. Thank you, everyone! The afternoon was very busy with families. The line was long to start and stayed consistent most of the afternoon. Great day here!

Groceries today were provided by Westminster Chapel, Crossroads Bible, Bellevue Christian Reformed, St. Madeleine Sophie, Bellevue Presbyterian, Cornerstone Fellowship, Creekside Covenant, Covenant Presbyterian, and East Shore Unitarian, as well as Bellevue Kiwanis and the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 163 orders came in today and all went out to families, along with 24 orders carried over from last week. Thank you to everyone who donated today!

The return of Easter bags started over the weekend, continued yesterday, and came pouring in today. There were many great stories of the fun people had put them together. Thank you for the time, effort, treasure and love poured into them. Volunteers yesterday received and sorted bags in the Jubilee library. More volunteers did the same this morning. Two volunteers spent the afternoon handing them out to families. It was pure joy to see them going home with people all afternoon. Thank you to everyone!

Deliveries from stores came as usually beginning on Sunday. All are delivered by volunteers: Safeway Thrashers Corner, QFC Crossroads, Whole Foods Bellevue, Trader Joes Overlake, Amazon Go Overlake, Local Distributor. Thank you to all of you who do so much to bring these items to Jubilee each week.

The AM volunteers today were from Bellevue Christian Reformed Church, along with a few other people added to help with Easter bags. These people worked hard all morning on all the usual tasks and then all the extra things are thrown in. They did great! Thank you, crew!

A delivery from Eastside Baby Corner came last Thursday and was missed in this email, so we want to acknowledge it here. Thank you, EBC!

Senior lunches were delivered today to 32 people in the community. Barb, Theresa, and Gina made their rounds late this morning with a tasty lunch. Included were personalized cards from Crossroads Bible Church Women’s Ministry. Thank you, everyone!

Cub Scout Pack 634 of the Wilburton and Woodridge neighborhoods did a drive for the ‘Groceries for Families’ program on Saturday, delivering a full vehicle and U-haul trailer to Jubilee. Well done, fellas and thank you!

A few quick stories and updates:

Families were delighted today to find the Easter bags offered to them. There were many smiling faces of parents. We asked one dad how his family was doing. He said they are fine, but then beamed saying this weekend will be so much better with these bags. Thank you! He was very happy. Hopefully, parents will be the heroes this weekend, giving their children a bit of normal. Otherwise, it is likely nothing would be provided for Easter.

We’ve been following David through his interview process with Microsoft. After 3 interviews and a technical interview, he has been hired and will start work next week. He’ll be a contractor to begin, which he’s done before. The pay is a bit lower but there is a path to being a full-time employee in one year. Additionally, his wife found a part-time job in retail. So, they now have normal income for the first time in one year. We talked about whether or not they need support still from GFF, and they think they can now make it. We will be removing them from the program this week. This is a good story with a great ending. Hopefully, they will make it from here. Please continue to pray for them.

We begin this week with 714 families in the program. There are 38 families on the waiting list. Only 2 of the big families from the waiting list which we invited into the program last actually came to sign up. Since September 1, there have been 144 families removed from the program.

Thank you for the continued support. We discussed as a PM crew today the reality of different experiences each day. As the crew works to serve families, we have one experience. Yet, the families have a completely different experience, all while in the same space in time. As a crew, we need to remember this. Whenever possible, we want to fall on the side of love, grace, understanding, caring, and friendship. It must be very difficult to come to Jubilee each week to receive food and pantry items. We know so little about the lives of these people. It is but for a few minutes each week, we get to be in their lives. Hopefully, they leave with a feeling that there are people in this community who care about them. Today, hopefully, they left with a feeling of Easter.

Have a wonderful week of Easter,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 3/26/21 Jubilee REACH Communications 3/26/21

Groceries for Families: Week 52 - Day 3

The week ends today on a very nice note. The weather was cool in the morning but not cold, with no trace of the storm from yesterday. The sun came through about noon and stayed with us most of the afternoon, which always seems to make things go better. Everyone enjoys the rays of warmth. The morning was a nice steady flow of incoming people dropping off groceries, pantry, and hygiene items. There are always lots of returning people but also plenty of new people too. Thank you to everyone! The afternoon was a modest line to start and a steady pace all afternoon. After the crazy busy day of yesterday, today felt calmer for sure. Overall, another great day.

March 25, 2021

Groceries today were provided by Champions Foundation, Rotary Bellevue Sunrise, and the Jubilee Friends group, as well as Victory Court, Doxa, Bellevue Presbyterian, Lighthouse, Crossroads Bible, Sacred Heart Parish & School, First United Methodist, Overlake Park Presbyterian, and Highland Covenant churches. A total of 230 orders came in (thank you for the extras!) and all went out to families today. Thank you to everyone who donated today.

Food boxes arrived about 10am today, which is a good time for the operation. The AM volunteers from Sacred Heart quickly covered them in ice packs and wrapped them in blankets. The group worked hard today processing all the incoming deliveries and packing 100 boxes. Thank you, crew!

Thanks for the flowers and oranges. Volunteers took the large bouquets and made many smaller bouquets. About 50 women received flowers today. About half the families received oranges, too. Thank you so much!!!

The wholesale diaper order is arriving this week. Some came on Monday and the rest are due tomorrow morning. We’ve ordered other bulk orders of #5 & #6 from Costco. Thank you to the individuals and churches who contributed to these large purchases. The diaper inventory is stable.

We’re planning to do an extra market for families this Saturday for all the non-perishables and other items which find their way here. Spring cleaning! We’ve done markets on Fridays and want to try a Saturday now.

A few stories and updates:

Shahin brought a lunch of Persian chicken and rice today. It was her way of saying thank you to everyone for the support she is receiving. Very tasty! Please accept this thanks, as well. Please continue to pray for her and her daughter, as they adjust to a new life.

Coach Seth is pictured here. He is a new site coach at Big Picture School and will be serving on the grocery staff weekly. He was thrust into the middle today working the QFC carts. Seth grew up in Issaquah, so is a local guy. Welcome, Seth!

David told us he is continuing the interview process with Microsoft. He is awaiting a slot for a technical interview next week, which should be the last step. Please pray for him through this process.

Thank you for another great week of ‘Groceries for Families’. Next week should be a lot of fun with Easter bags going out. Please continue to pray for these families. A few of them we know specifics to pray for, but most we don’t. They all need prayer.

Have a great weekend,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 3/25/21 Jubilee REACH Communications 3/25/21

Groceries for Families: Week 52 - Day 2

After a lovely day of weather to mark 1 year yesterday, +1 brought a flash of winter still. The morning was a quite bitter cold, with a biting wind that just wouldn’t stop. By the afternoon the wind lessened and the temperature climbed just enough to take the edge off. The rain held off by 4pm it was coming down hard and is still giving the gutter system a test right now. Wednesdays are a super busy day for incoming groceries, pantry & hygiene items. Today was very typical, with lots of happy people coming all morning. Thank you to everyone! Families lined up early and kept a line all afternoon. Lots of people came today. We nearly went through all 240 food boxes, which always marks a busy day. Overall the operation ran smoothly and lots of food & pantry items went out.

March 24, 2021

Groceries today were provided by the Rotary Club of Bellevue, the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club and the Jubilee Friends group, as well as Newport Covenant, 24-Seven, Calvary Chapel Eastside, Bellevue Christian Reformed, St. Louise, Indian Fellowship, Crossroads Bible and Bellevue Presbyterian churches. A total of 276 orders came in today (thank you for the extras!) and all but 34 went out today to families. The remainder will go out first thing tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who donated today.

After a different type of food box delivery yesterday, which threw us a little bit operationally, the normal boxes returned today. The change had to do with the distributor working to help a food bank in Renton with some special circumstances. We’re happy to roll with whatever comes our way, but with a complicated operation, unexpected changes have an effect.

The AM volunteers today were from Bellevue Presbyterian Church, with a couple of ringers thrown in to help. We needed every person today, as the morning was super busy with all sorts of things going on. The group worked very hard and kept ahead all morning long. Thank you, crew!

Delivery by a volunteer from Amazon Go Overlake yielded 22 boxes of bananas this morning. Volunteers quickly opened them all and got them into the operation. These were perfectly ripe, so we substituted them for the ones purchased today and will do so again tomorrow. The purchased bananas are green, so will hold until next week. We won’t buy bananas Tuesday or Wednesday, saving about $300. Thank you, Rick!

Seattle T2PT returned today with another great donation of feminine hygiene packs. All of them went out to women today. Thank you, Amanda!

Yakult returned with another donation of their probiotic drinks. These are very popular and a real treat in the market. Thank you, Diane!

A picture of cones with bags around them is to the left. Cones are how we keep families socially distant while lining up. One cone goes out about 10:15am, families are allowed to put a bag down to hold their place in line. Each bag represents one family. By the time we opened at 1pm, every cone in this picture had a person standing next to it.

A few updates and stories:

Rose was here today. She was very excited to share that Home Depot has given her two extra shifts this week, so she’ll have five in total. Her first full paycheck is this Friday, which she is greatly anticipating. She loves her job and feels very much at home there. She’s caring for her four young children after the death of her husband one year ago. She is working for the first time. Please continue to pray for her.

Maria brought a lunch of beef soup today. We gave her the extra beef last week. She continues to express love and gratitude through her cooking. She shared today her knee is having troubles. Maria is older and uses a walker for stability. She has three options for her knee: 1) do nothing, 2) have a scope go in to see the damage, 3) have surgery. She prays every day for healing. She will do the scope soon, which will reveal whether surgery is needed. Please join her in prayer.

Maria has a woman who looks after her because of her health. This lady, whose name we don’t recall, came to Denisse today to ask for prayer. Her son called today saying he is suicidal. She is very worried and trying to help him. Please pray for them.

Kim is a family we haven’t profiled in a while. She’s been with us since the spring and has three teenage boys. She’s very talkative and quite fun, so we all know her. She works at a local Starbucks and gets about 25 hours per week, so far. She had been missing for a few weeks, which is very noticeable. She came today, so we quickly welcomed her back. She broke into tears, as she shared her mother died suddenly in Arizona. Her mother was 70 and her best friend. Her mom had stomach cancer, which she hid from her two daughters, so her death was a shock. She flew right there, along with her sister from California, only to find her mother’s sisters has raided her mother’s home, taking items and cash from a safe. Her aunts are poor and desperate, so seemed to have no trouble taking things. Kim is overwhelmed with grief and now anger. The situation is a mess. She is home now and trying to come to grips with the loss of her mother. Please pray for her.

Marcia returned yesterday, after being gone a few weeks. We knew she had some sort of emergency surgery, which seems to have been in her abdomen. She is recovering and now dealing with Overlake to get some financial relief for the medical bill. Please pray for her. She is carrying many burdens, which have been shared here recently.

Thanks for another great day in ‘Groceries for Families’. It is very exciting to think about the Easter bags being handed out next week. Thank you for this extra effort to make that holiday special.

Have a great evening, wherever this email finds you.

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 3/25/21 Jubilee REACH Communications 3/25/21

Groceries for Families: Week 52 - Day 1

Today marks one year from the beginning of ‘Groceries for Families’ on Monday, March 23, 2020. It’s hard to imagine. More comments are below. For today, the operation was quite normal. The weather cooperated nicely, with cool temps in the morning and pleasant in the afternoon. The sun was out at times, with no wind. No complaints at all. The morning was very busy with happy people dropping off groceries, pantry, and hygiene items. Thank you, everyone! Families lined up early and kept a slow but steady pace most of the afternoon. It felt a little slow, but in the end, a lot of food & pantry items went out. It is a very nice start to the week.

March 23, 2021

Groceries today were provided by Bellevue Kiwanis and the Jubilee Friends group, as well as Creekside Covenant, St. Madeleine Sophie, East Shore Unitarian, Cornerstone Fellowship, Bellevue Presbyterian, Bellevue Christian Reformed, Crossroads Bible, Covenant Presbyterian, Westminster Chapel, and Awakening churches. A total of 208 orders came in and all went out to families today, along with about 12 carried over from last week. Thank you to everyone who donated!

Food boxes showed up a little differently today, which required some quick changes. The boxes were packed by Cascadia Produce instead of Medosweet Farms. The boxes themselves were a different shape and had an open hole on top. They stacked 40 on a pallet instead of 48, which meant we received 6 pallets instead of 5. The cooked chicken wasn’t frozen, which we actually rely on to help keep things cold. We made it all work, but any changes like that require extra problem solving for sure.

The morning volunteers were from Cornerstone Fellowship Church. This group worked hard all morning, including all the adjustments with the food boxes. They processed all the incoming groceries and packed 100 boxes of food. Thank you, crew!

Senior lunches were delivered to 32 people in the community today by Barb, Theresa, and Liz. Thank you, ladies! Included with the taco salad lunch were personalized notes, written to each senior by the Women’s Ministry at Crossroads Bible Church. The goal is to have one personalized card included in each lunch, each week. Thank you, CBC!

A large donation of different dog and cat foods came from Target Factoria on Friday, delivered by a volunteer. It appears they were clearinghouse, and we all benefited. The inventory is well stocked for the next few weeks, at least. Thank you, Jerry! He also brought many, many dozens of eggs, which all went out to families today. What a haul!

Volunteers began this week by bringing food from numerous grocery stores: Safeway Thrasher’s Corner (thank you, Dale & Kathy!), QFC Crossroads (thank you, Mike, Gil & Kyle!), Whole Foods Bellevue (thank you, Fred!), Trader Joe’s Overlake (thank you, Fred!), Amazon Go Overlake (thank you, Rick!) and a local distributor (thank you, Mike & Gil!). This food fills the market daily.

Guild Mortgage in Bellevue is a long-time partner of Jubilee REACH and did a drive of pantry items last week. It was very successful and brought to Jubilee in a large pickup truckload. Thank you, Guild Mortgage! And thank you Sam and Denisse for delivering.

Coach Dycen (see picture to left) worked his first grocery shift today as a new member of the Jubilee family. He is a site coach at Tyee Middle School, having just moved here from Sacramento. He fit right in today and was put on ‘cart duty’ as his first assignment. Welcome, Dycen!

A few reflections on the one year mark of GFF:

It feels best to not define this as a celebration or anything more than a commemoration. It feels better to just be quiet a bit. One year means a full year of difficulties for these families.

Yet, it is incredible to acknowledge the effort put out by so many people (all of you!) to sustain this program for so long. Your hearts are clearly connected to it. Thank you!

Day 1 started with 20 families expected and 19 of them came. The operation was so basic and yet so difficult. Now we can serve 240 families with no trouble.

Week 1 had 60 families registered to come twice during the week. (now they all come once weekly) Week 2 went to 205 families which was a huge leap of faith at the time. Week 3 had 285 families and week 4 had 330.

The initial commitment of GFF was 8 weeks (the pandemic will be over by then). It was then extended to 12 weeks (early June). It was then extended through the summer. We peaked at 682 families at the end of June and actually came down to about 400 by the end of July. But it crept back up steadily in August. It was then extended to January 31 and now June 30. Wow.

There are currently 24 churches, 4 clubs, and the Jubilee Friends group actively participating weekly.

Thank you for all you continue to do to support this program and these families. We don’t know much about most of their lives, only the time they are here each week. Yet, we do know that by lessing food insecurity and providing many of the basics of living, we can all help them deal with the rest that life throws at them. With that, we also send love, hope, peace, and the full knowledge that someone cares about them. Hopefully, this makes them feel an important part of this community, that they matter within this community and they belong in this community. They are; they do; they do

Blessings to you all,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 3/19/21 Jubilee REACH Communications 3/19/21

Groceries for Families: Week 51 - Day 2

We end this week on a very strong note, with a busy day and plenty of joy. The weather held, with the expected morning rain not coming until late in the afternoon. The morning was very pleasant, with bits of sunshine sprinkled in. The wind picked up in the afternoon, which dropped the temperature, but the rain calmed the wind soon after. The morning had a steady stream of happy people dropping off all sorts of groceries, pantry, and hygiene items. Thank you, everyone! The afternoon had a modest line to start and a steady pace of families all afternoon. It was the busiest day of the week, and lots of food & pantry goods went home with people today. Awesome!

March 18, 2021

Groceries today were provided by Highland Covenant, Victory Court, Sacred Heart Parish & School, Bellevue Presbyterian, Crossroads Bible, Doxa, First United Methodist, Overlake Park Presbyterian and Lighthouse churches, as well as the Rotary Bellevue Sunrise, Champions Foundation and Jubilee Friends group. A total of 196 orders came in today and all went out to families, along with 31 carried over from yesterday. Thank you to everyone who donated.

The AM volunteers were from Sacred Heart Parish today. The strong group of nine worked hard all morning processing incoming groceries and packing food boxes. Well done! Thank you, crew!

The insulation blankets continue to do their job. A picture is to the left, volunteers unwrapping a pallet, so boxes can have fresh produce added. Thank you for all the donated gel packs. More are needed, so feel free to donate any extras you have lying around. They are working wonderfully!

At the end of each day, volunteers work from 3:30-5:00pm to clean and reset the entire operational space. The final touch is to use a power blower to clean the grounds, which makes it look great. On Thursday, the entire area gets torn down outside. Thank you, volunteers!

El Dios Viviente Church in West Seattle and St. Monica Catholic Church on Mercer Island came late this afternoon to take all remaining food boxes. They will be distributed to other people in need. We are blessed to be in partnership with both of these churches. They are meeting the need in many ways.

A few updates and stories:

A man came today for groceries, Yehia, who is a regular every Thursday. He seemed a bit out of sorts, and when asked a basic question, he struggled to respond fully. He then shared he is completely distracted, so not fully present. He learned today his mother has some bleeding in her stomach, so is suddenly hospitalized. His father is frantic with worry. They live in Alexandria, Egypt. He is very worried and is considering whether he needs to fly there this weekend. It would be a huge expense and interruption to his own family (wife and two sons). As the only son, he feels especially responsible for caring for them. We’ll see if he returns next week or not. Please pray for them. This is another example of real-life continuing, despite the pandemic.

Erwin returned this evening for groceries, coming after work. He is getting some shifts at a restaurant in downtown Bellevue. His wife is still dealing with a nagging cough and now is suffering from intense back pain. They were up 2 hours last night, as she fought it. They will return to Harborview for their next specialist appointment in the coming weeks. For now, they can only take one day at a time. He’s a very nice man, who is working hard to care for his family. Please pray for them.

Shahin is continuing to grieve the loss of her husband and is staying close to people at Jubilee. She goes through stages of anger, which seem normal. We are working to get her help with her car, which is a ’94 Chevy Tracker and needing some TLC. She texted, “Thank you so much for Jubilee. You are all my best friends. I feel safe and calm there.” Please pray for her. If you want to bring a card of encouragement, please do. She needs to know people care.

We end this week in a very positive place. Attendance for ‘Groceries for Families’ is stable. The waiting list is growing slowly. There are signs people are getting back to work very slowly. Thank you for all you are doing with your time, treasure, and prayers. Please keep going.

Have a great weekend,

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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