EVENTS HAPPENING IN YOUR AREA.
FOOD ACCESS MAP, SCHOOL DISTRIBUTIONS, MOBILE MARKET AND MORE – APRIL 17
WASHINGTON STATE FOOD ACCESS MAP
Second Harvest teamed up with Food Lifeline and Northwest Harvest to create a statewide food access map. The map shows food banks and meal programs across Washington and provides information such as address, phone number and hours of operation. The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting service hours at some locations, so please be sure to call the number listed to confirm they will be open.
FRESH AND FROZEN SCHOOL DISTRIBUTIONS
To increase food access during this time of heightened need, Second Harvest began offering food box distributions at Spokane Public Schools locations this week. Distributions at six schools served more than 400 families. Going forward, Second Harvest plans to hold four of these events each day at schools in the Greater Spokane area. Schools will be promoting these food distributions through their channels.
MOBILE MARKET
Our Mobile Market distribution at Silver Lake Mall in Coeur d’Alene on Wednesday, April 15, served 800 families. Families received a variety of fresh and frozen items to help them through the financial crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls Press’ coverage of the event here.
Next week, our Mobile Market will be in Quincy, Spokane, Bonner’s Ferry, and Cusick. Look for more Mobile Market events on our schedule here.
INLAND COVID RESPONSE FOOD CONTINUITY TASK FORCE UPDATE
Members of the Inland COVID Food Continuity Task Force provided an update to the public on Thursday, April 16. Drew Meuer, senior vice president of philanthropy at Second Harvest, reported on our emergency response operations to date. Rep. Marcus Riccelli and Carly Cortright, co-chair of the task force, also provided information for people seeking food assistance and offered ways to help people facing hunger during the crisis. You can watch the update here.
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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