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.”
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.
