SOME OF OUR FAVORITE LOCAL STORIES.
feeding hope: Joel and maria’s story
Cars lined up almost a mile long in the streets of Grandview with people waiting for Second Harvest’s Mobile Market food distribution to begin. Sitting in their white Ford pickup, Joel and Maria have been waiting for over an hour.
This is their first time attending a Mobile Market event, and their relief is visible on their faces. “A friend told us about it. I don’t even know what we’ll be getting, but I’m already so happy this is here,” Maria said. Joel followed up with, “I’m happy she told us to come early!”
Both Joel and Maria are still working, but at very reduced hours. Joel works in landscaping, and business has been much slower than normal this year. Maria is a house cleaner and says, “There’s only about a quarter of the houses I usually clean. It’s been very hard.”
“This is an answer to our prayers. thank you so much, and god bless you.”
They’re grateful that Joel’s mom, Esther, lives with them and can help with their two kids – ages two and four. It’s allowed Joel and Maria to be more flexible picking up odd jobs or helping friends for some extra cash. But, even with the extra help, it’s been a difficult year. The odd jobs have started to slow down, and the bills have begun to pile up.
“We’re really scared because it seems like this will never end,” Maria said. They’re worried that if things don’t change soon, they’ll have to move to Texas to live with Maria’s brother. That’s why they’re so relieved to be receiving help from Second Harvest today. “This is going to be so helpful. Thank you, thank you.” Joel said.
“This is an answer to our prayers,” Maria said. “Thank you so much, and God bless you.”
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.
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.
Feeding Eastern Washington and North Idaho
Copyright 2020 Second Harvest. All rights reserved.
