EVENTS HAPPENING IN YOUR AREA.
MOBILE MARKET, FEEDING KIDS, FOOD FOR FAMILIES CAMPAIGN AND MORE – APRIL 14
MOBILE MARKET
Our Mobile Market will be at Silver Lake Mall in Coeur d’Alene tomorrow, April 15, at 10 a.m. The distribution will take place in the parking lot near JCPenney. This will be a drive-thru distribution. Please enter from Canfield Avenue or Hanley Avenue near Horizon Credit Union. Visit Second Harvest’s Mobile Market calendar for more information.
SECOND HARVEST IN THE NEWS
Second Harvest’s Mobile Market at Chief Joseph Middle School in Richland served 250 families. The community’s first responders were among the generous volunteers who gave their time to help their neighbors in need. You can watch YakTriNews’ video covering the distribution here.
FEEDING KIDS IN THE TRI-CITIES
Second Harvest is providing Kennewick School District with produce each week to distribute to kids and families in need. Distributions are every Monday, and the first one on April 6 served more than 260 families.
The Boys & Girls Club of Benton and Franklin Counties continues to receive additional food from Second Harvest to provide to the kids and families they serve. This additional product not only keeps their pantry at their main branch in Pasco stocked as they see an increase in visits, but it’s also delivered to homebound families by Boys & Girls Club volunteers.
EMERGENCY FOOD PROVISIONS
As the need for food assistance increases throughout our service territory, our partners are running out of food more quickly than usual. Thanks to increased community support, Second Harvest can rapidly respond with emergency food provisions to support partners experiencing low food supplies. Our Pasco hunger solution center, for example, received two urgent calls on Friday from local food banks who were running low on food before their large distributions this week. Second Harvest provided them with additional fresh, frozen and dry items, which they distributed to more than 600 families.
ADDITIONAL STORAGE CAPACITY
TWT Refrigerated Service generously donated four refrigerated trailers to Second Harvest during the COVID-19 crisis. This donation provides critical frozen storage space and allows Second Harvest to rapidly accept bulk frozen food donations at both our Spokane and Pasco hunger solution centers.
ROSAUERS “FOOD FOR FAMILIES” CAMPAIGN
Last week, Rosauers kicked off their “Food For Families” campaign, which provides $25 gift cards to families in need during the COVID-19 crisis. During the campaign, Rosauers will add $5 to every “Food For Families” food card purchase. The $25 Rosauers food cards will be given to people facing hunger through neighborhood food banks and other channels.
THE NATIONAL GUARD AT SECOND HARVEST
An additional 15 National Guard members were deployed to Second Harvest this week to assist with our emergency response operations. The National Guard has been a valuable asset to Second Harvest during this time of increased need and decreased volunteer availability.
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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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