EVENTS HAPPENING IN YOUR AREA.
TRIPLE YOUR IMPACT, HOLIDAY RESOURCES, HOLIDAY CLOSURES AND MORE – DECEMBER 11
TRIPLE YOUR IMPACT!
You can triple your impact to help our neighbors in need this holiday season. Our friends at Bank of America will triple match every dollar you donate up to $75,000 to help feed children, families and seniors facing hunger in our area. You can make a gift on our secure donation page here. Thank you for helping ensure that everyone in our community has the food they need this winter, and thank you to Bank of America for this generous match opportunity!
BEEF COUNTS
Washington’s Beef Community generously donated locally sourced roasts that were distributed at three Mobile Market events this week in Toppenish, Yakima and Ellensburg. This donation is part of the Beef Counts program. Second Harvest is celebrating ten years of partnership with the Washington Beef Community this year and is extremely grateful for its commitment to helping ensure families throughout the region have access to healthy food. You can watch a video from one of this week’s distributions here and view the Yakima Herald’s photos from the events here.
UNITED WAY HOLIDAY RESOURCES
Spokane County United Way recently released its annual list of holiday resources for low-income individuals and families. The list includes resources for food, clothing, children’s toys and more. You can view the list here. A printable PDF version is also available.
SECOND HARVEST HOLIDAY CLOSURES
Second Harvest will be closed Wednesday, Dec. 23, through Friday, Dec. 25, for the Christmas holiday and Thursday, Dec. 31, through Friday, Jan. 1, to give volunteers and staff much-deserved rest over the holidays. If you’d like to drop off a year-end food or fund donation, please be sure to note these closures. You’re welcome to stop by during business hours on Dec. 21 and Dec. 22 or Dec. 28 through Dec. 30.
We’re sometimes asked why we take extra days off during the holidays, and there are a few reasons. The first is that most of the food banks we supply distribute holiday food boxes the week before Christmas. This allows local volunteers to make sure that families have what they need before the holidays, and it also means that the volunteers get to take a well-deserved break for the holidays. At Second Harvest, our job is to make sure that local food banks are stocked up and ready for those distributions. This means that Second Harvest’s volunteers and staff also get to rest up and recover over the holidays. Due to the pandemic, we are shipping more food than ever to help people in need. We know there will be much more work to do in the New Year.
Thank you all for your dedication and generosity that has helped so many of our neighbors in Eastern Washington and North Idaho persevere during this pandemic. We can’t find the words to express our gratitude. And here’s wishing you all a safe and healthy 2021.
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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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