EVENTS HAPPENING IN YOUR AREA.
KEY PROGRAMS, VOLUNTEERING AND FUNDRAISING NEEDS – MARCH 19
FEEDING KIDS
On Monday and Tuesday, March 16 and 17, generous donors and volunteers helped Second Harvest and At The Core more than double our Bite2Go kit distribution to students in Spokane, Spokane Valley and Mead school districts.
Second Harvest arranged for an emergency food pick-up for Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties on March 18 after the organization posted a request for food on social media. The post showed that the shelves of their food pantry were empty, as more families are in need of food assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within a few hours of the post, Second Harvest restocked the pantry with fresh produce, nonperishable goods and other food items. Volunteers then coordinated food deliveries to families in need associated with the Boys & Girls Club.
FEEDING SENIORS
On Thursday, March 19, in partnership with Catholic Charities volunteers, Second Harvest volunteers and staff distributed 1,300 Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) boxes to homebound seniors.
MOBILE MARKET
Second Harvest will be doubling the Mobile Market bus schedule starting the week of March 23.
In order to increase the number of Mobile Market events each week, we will add a second driver so that both Mobile Market vehicles – our large refrigerated truck and our bus – can be utilized four to five times each week. We will begin to schedule these additional Mobile Market distributions in conjunction with our existing partners and agencies. Second Harvest will work with our partner agency network to assess community needs and utilize the Mobile Market’s increased capacity to get food to where it’s needed most.
Beginning the week of March 30, we will also use a semi-truck/trailer as a Mobile Market fleet vehicle. This vehicle will serve mostly rural communities. We are currently working with our rural partners to assess needs throughout the region and send this equipment where it can do the most good.
Events will be visible and added to our website here and on social media.
Currently, we do not publicly promote Mobile Market bus events. We have increased the number of bus distributions to include more existing partner sites serving vulnerable communities. Given the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, we plan to keep bus events private to better protect the health of vulnerable populations, such as seniors.
VOLUNTEERS
Volunteer shifts are being added in our warehouse to build emergency food boxes for distribution at Mobile Market events. These boxes will include shelf-stable foods, fresh produce, bread and beef from the Beef Counts program through the Washington Beef Commission (while supplies last). These volunteer shifts will occur Monday through Saturday and are open to fewer people in order to promote social distancing. You can sign up for these shifts on Second Harvest’s VolunteerHub.
FUNDRAISING NEEDS
Second Harvest is seeking community support to fund its COVID-19 response operations, including the following:
- Emergency food boxes of shelf-stable foods, fresh produce, bread, and beef from the Washington Beef Commission (while supplies last) to be distributed at Mobile Market events
- Hire of a temporary/backup driver for the Mobile Market program to increase Mobile Market distributions throughout the region
- Expanded food distribution throughout the Inland Northwest, potentially renting another semi-truck/trailer
To sign up to receive our updates to COVID-19 via email, please click here.
Food Safety First: – April 19
In January and March, AIB International conducted audits of our facilities – the Pasco Distribution Center, the Spokane Distribution Center and the Wolff Family Child Hunger Solution Center. As has been the case for more than a decade, we received scores of 930 or higher, out of a possible 1000. Anything above 900 is considered exemplary.
While receiving high scores from AIB is important, we are equally proud of the fact that any day of the year, our team is always working to keep our buildings clean and our food supply safe. This speaks to the strong food safety culture we have here at Second Harvest.
A celebration of our volunteers – April 12
Volunteering doesn’t have to be a one-time thing and the individuals who volunteer at Second Harvest in Spokane and Pasco have proven that in many ways. Even though April is nationally recognized as Volunteer Month, our gratitude for your service is year-round. In the last couple of years, the Volunteer Center in Spokane has gone through various changes and adjustments to keep up with the increase in food demand, prompted first by COVID in 2020 and then by inflation. Even with the changes, our volunteer support has stayed and become even stronger. Our community is filled with mission-driven individuals to help us feed, nourish and build the community around us.
In The Kitchen: Food Waste Prevention Week – April 5
Earth Month is the perfect opportunity to reflect on our habits and how they impact the planet. We might think about how often we drive and take advantage of the nicer weather to bike to work, or maybe even grab some friends and family and find a river cleanup event for Earth Day. But did you know that you can make an impact without even leaving your house? In fact, reflecting on our cooking and grocery shopping habits has the potential to have a greater and long-lasting impact on our environment.
Feeding Eastern Washington and North Idaho
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