EVENTS HAPPENING IN YOUR AREA.
LIFE CENTER FUNDRAISER AND DISTRIBUTION, SHARE YOUR STORY AND MORE – MAY 12
DISTRIBUTION AT THREE RIVERS CAMPUS
Last week, the Toyota Center in Kennewick hosted two drive-thru food distributions. More than 1,600 families received a variety of food items from the distributions, including potatoes donated by the Washington State Potato Commission as part of their commitment to donate one million pounds of potatoes to people facing hunger during the pandemic. Read more about the distributions here and here, and watch a video of some footage from Friday’s distribution.
The Three Rivers Campus, which includes the Toyota Center, has partnered with Second Harvest to both store food items and host drive-thru distributions each Wednesday in May at 11 a.m. For more information about upcoming distributions, see our calendar of events.
LIFE CENTER FUNDRAISER AND DISTRIBUTION
On Saturday, May 9, Life Center hosted a drive-thru Feed a Neighbor fundraiser for Second Harvest at their church campus in west Spokane. Lifting up a $125,000 matching gift, Life Center saw its members and the community come together to donate $127,000 by the time the drive-thru event ended Saturday afternoon. Additional donations that came in after that are still being counted and will come in well over the $250,000 goal to help ensure that everyone in our community has the food they need during this crisis. In addition to the fundraiser, Life Center collected 5,816 pounds of food—the equivalent of 4,800 meals—for hungry people in Spokane. Thank you to Life Center and everyone who participated. You can learn more about the event here.
Life Center will also host a drive-thru food distribution this Thursday, May 14, at the church (1202 Government Way, Spokane, WA 99224) from 4 to 7 p.m. (or while supplies last). About 1,000 families will be served. For more information about the event, click here.
PARTNERSHIP WITH YAKIMA VALLEY FARM WORKERS CLINIC
The Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic hosted three Mobile Market distributions over the last two weeks to help meet the increased need for food in rural areas. The events took place in Toppenish, Yakima and Grandview and together served more than 1,300 families.
SHARE YOUR STORY
Have you sought food assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Your story matters. Your voice will help people better understand what hunger looks like in our community right now and how they can help. Second Harvest shares stories of the people we serve on our website, in fundraising materials, on social channels and with the media. You can also share your story anonymously. Please use this form to get in touch.
To sign up to receive our COVID-19 updates 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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