EVENTS HAPPENING IN YOUR AREA.
NEW PARTNERSHIPS, VOLUNTEERS, FEEDING SENIORS, MOBILE MARKET – MARCH 31
A SURGE IN NEED
Second Harvest’s partner food pantries are reporting a 30-50% increase in visits for food assistance over the last two weeks. As more people lose income due to business closures, more people are seeking food assistance from their local food pantries. That means Second Harvest must source more food to meet the increasing demand during a time when the supply chain is experiencing several disruptions due to COVID-19.
Read more about the growing need in the Tri-Cities here.
PARTNERSHIP WITH SPOKANE FOOD FIGHTERS
Second Harvest kicked off its partnership with Spokane Food Fighters this week. Second Harvest will supply up to 125 emergency food boxes each day to Spokane Food Fighters, whose volunteers will deliver them to people who can’t leave their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Food boxes will include about 15 pounds of assorted fresh and non-perishable items, providing food for approximately 12 meals. This program serves people within the city of Spokane. Read more about the partnership here.
“STAY HOME, STAY HEALTHY”
On March 30, the Washington State Department of Agriculture released a letter affirming that hunger-relief volunteers and staff are performing essential services that are permitted to continue during the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” proclamation period. Second Harvest remains open and continues to seek volunteers to help get critical food supplies to people who need them during the COVID-19 crisis. Sign up for a shift here.
FEEDING SENIORS
Seniors are at higher-risk for COVID-19 complications and therefore are especially avoiding trips to the food bank or grocery store right now. Second Harvest is bringing food right to seniors to help maintain their health and safety. On March 30, our Mobile Market bus rolled up to the Vintage at Spokane senior apartments to bring 120 residents a mix of fresh and nonperishable foods. The residents were grateful not only for the food but also for not having to leave their homes to restock their pantries. Later today, the bus will deliver food to residents of Appleway Court, a senior apartment complex in Spokane Valley.
MOBILE MARKET
To protect the health and safety of the people we serve and our volunteers, we are facilitating all large Mobile Market events in a drive-thru style. This distribution method has been going very smoothly and allows all event participants to comply with social distancing recommendations. Below are some photos of yesterday’s Mobile Market event in Kennewick.
To sign up to receive our updates to COVID-19 via email, please click here.
Gonzaga’s Dusty Stromer and Zilch: Teaming up to end hunger – March 29
Dusty Stromer understood from a young age that while his family had enough to eat, others in his circle were not so fortunate. Dusty had a courtside seat to food insecurity — he says that by age 10, he knew some of his friends came from households where food was not reliably available.
A freshman shooting guard on the men’s basketball team at Gonzaga University, Dusty recently got a close look at the fight against hunger by touring Second Harvest’s warehouse and helping to distribute free food through its Zilch program.
Grocery Rescue: Changing lives daily – March 22
Your visit to a local grocery store may seem like a routine, unimportant chore. That perfect strawberry, tomato or apple you select is made possible because different departments of your neighborhood store carefully maintain a standard for each product. But what happens when the banana is too green, or the strawberries are too ripe? That product is stranded and without rescue would find its way to the landfill. Thanks to stores partnering with Second Harvest’s Grocery Rescue program, that nutritious food is shared with partner agencies throughout the 26 counties in Eastern Washington and North Idaho served by Second Harvest.
Winter 2024 Newsletter – March 15
Check out the latest news from Second Harvest. Serving people facing hunger across the Inland Northwest.
Feeding Eastern Washington and North Idaho
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