SOME OF OUR FAVORITE LOCAL STORIES.
AGENCY SPOTLIGHT: OUR PLACE – AUGUST 13
Author: Ben Prez
On a given Wednesday summer evening
the Spokane Community consistently flocks to the Kendall Yards Farmers Market to pick up local produce, shop artisanal goods, and dine at food trucks. At the same time, a few blocks away, Our Place Community Outreach holds a free farmers market offering a variety of fresh produce, meats, canned goods, and other staples.
Nestled in the West Central neighborhood of Spokane, Our Place, a long time Second Harvest partner agency, offers a Wednesday (4 p.m. – 6 p.m.) free market along with a Thursday morning (10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.) option as well. Shoppers peruse the tables laden with veggies, picking what they will use and filling their carts. A danceable beat thumps away as volunteers mingle with guests, sharing recipes, laughing, and joking with the patrons. What started as a seasonal summer program has expanded to a year-round event.
“We fed 31,000 people in one year. You see a child walking out holding a nectarine and it makes sense,” Our Place Food Pantry Manager Setira Dawson says. “We get people from Deer Park, Valley, Spangle, Rockford. They get to choose what they know they will use and what their kids will eat. That choice is dignity. It makes you feel worthwhile and valued.”
Our Place receives a majority of its food
from weekly deliveries from Second Harvest – but free food to those in need is just one of the services provided. They also have a personal hygiene bank, laundry services, showers, utility bill assistance, and free bus passes.
Director Tracie Swanson, along with Setira and a dedicated crew of volunteers, provide these services week after week to those in need with an emphasis on strengthening community, serving with dignity, and meeting the needs of families and children.
“We couldn’t do this without Second Harvest. The orders are consistent, they show up every week without fail and it’s good food,” Dawson says. “When you see a kid walking out holding nectarines and peaches it changes their whole mood.”
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.
Grocery Rescue: Changing lives daily – March 22
Your visit to a local grocery store may seem like a routine, unimportant chore. That perfect strawberry, tomato or apple you select is made possible because different departments of your neighborhood store carefully maintain a standard for each product. But what happens when the banana is too green, or the strawberries are too ripe? That product is stranded and without rescue would find its way to the landfill. Thanks to stores partnering with Second Harvest’s Grocery Rescue program, that nutritious food is shared with partner agencies throughout the 26 counties in Eastern Washington and North Idaho served by Second Harvest.
Winter 2024 Newsletter – March 15
Check out the latest news from Second Harvest. Serving people facing hunger across the Inland Northwest.
Feeding Eastern Washington and North Idaho
Copyright 2020 Second Harvest. All rights reserved.
