The importance of Emergency Feeding Program food bags Send to Friend
By: Audrey Zemke - 3/10/2010
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 A man called Saturday afternoon to see if the Food Bank was open. I told him that we would be open again on Monday morning and asked him if he was okay until then. He asked if I could tell him of any food bank that might be open that day. I said that it sounded like he wasn’t okay until Monday and that if he wanted to come to WCFB, we had an emergency food bag that he could have to hold him over. When he arrived, he couldn’t stop thanking me for helping and said that he so appreciated the help.The emergency food bags the White Center Food Bank gives out are provided by the Emergency Feeding Program. Without this vital partnership, we would not have emergency food to provide after hours.
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WC Heights Community Garden raised beds available by application Send to Friend
By: Donna Pierce - 3/6/2010
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 Together with the White Center Community Development Association, the White Center Food Bank is announcing that applications for raised beds at White Center Heights Park are now available!The garden is located in White Center Heights Park at 102nd SW and SW 7th, across the street from White Center Heights Elementary School. Community members will have an opportunity to use a raised bed to grow own garden. Raised beds are free to garden for the season. Gardeners can also contribute a part of their harvest to feed the clients of the White Center Food Bank. Now in its 3rd year, the garden will be a place where residents can come together as a community to grow food with neighbors, family and friends. White Center Food Bank is excited to be able to provide an opportunity to the community to provide increased self-sufficiency and celebrate the diverse cultures that make White Center a wonderful place. The garden was built as a project of White Center Community Development Association by Starbucks in 2007. Applications are available at the White Center Food Bank. Contact Audrey Zemke in person, at audrey@whitecenterfoodbank.org or (206) 762-2848 for an application. Applications are due to the White Center Food Bank by March 30, 2010. A lottery system will be used to pick the 16 individuals or groups who will receive a raised bed. The White Center Food Bank is also looking for people to help with the community garden to help with composting, clean up before and after the season, gardener education, kick-off garden event or year-end harvest celebration. If you want to be connected to a great community of gardeners, contact Audrey Zemke to volunteer.
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GIving Back Send to Friend
By: Donna Pierce - 3/4/2010
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Tony was a food bank client when Rick Jump, our director, first met him. Recently, Rick suggested that he start volunteering with WCFB. Tony, who as a young boy had been hit by a car, has a severe disability and wasn't sure if he could do the job. Rick assured him that we could make volunteering possible and provided a stool for him to sit on while he is on the line. Tony now volunteers with us three times per week. Rick says that he has become an outstanding volunteer. "I really like working at the food bank," said Tony. "It makes the week go by faster, and it's good to get out of the house. It's nice to be around other people, too. It's been fun seeing the food bank grow from way back when to what it is now. The box of food I get really helps out, too. I look forward to being at the food bank!"
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Feinstein Challenge Send to Friend
By: Donna Pierce - 3/2/2010
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$1 MILLION FEINSTEIN CHALLENGE TO BENEFIT LOCAL FOOD BANKS March and April donations to White Center Food Bank and West Seattle Food Bank will qualify for Feinstein Challenge. The White Center Food Bank and West Seattle Food Bank are encouraging community members to make donations between March 1st and April 30th so they can receive additional funds from the Feinstein Foundation's $1 Million Challenge. For the past 12 years Rhode Island philanthropist, Alan Shawn Feinstein, has made $1 Million available to help anti-hunger agencies. For every cash and food donation received by the end of April, the Feinstein Foundation will add a financial contribution. “During these tough economic times local food banks are serving more families than ever. Many of them are first time visitors to a food bank,” said Rick Jump, executive director of the White Center Food Bank. “This increased demand for services is likely to continue over the next several months and we urgently need to support of the community to insure that we are able to provide nutritious meals to our neighbors in need,” said Jump. For the White Center Food Bank, donations may be mailed to 10829 8th Avenue SW, Seattle, WA 98146. To make a donation online or for information about the White Center Food Bank's programs benefited by the $1 Million Challenge, visit www.whitecenterfoodbank.org or contact Rick Jump at (206) 762-2848, or email rick@whitecenterfoodbank.org. For the West Seattle Food Bank, donations may be mailed to 3419 SW Morgan, Seattle, WA 98126. To make a donation online or for information about the West Seattle Food Bank's programs benefited by the $1 Million Challenge, visit www.westseattlefoodbank.org or contact Fran Yeatts at (206) 932-9023, or email fran@westseattlefoodbank.org. For information about the Feinstein Foundation and the $1 Million Challenge, visit www.feinsteinfoundation.org. Thank you!
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Pet Food Drive for WCFB Send to Friend
By: Donna Pierce - 2/24/2010
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Now through March 13, 2010, the White Center Kiwanis will be collecting dog and cat food for the White Center Food Bank. Pet food can be dropped off at A Place for Pets (431 SW 152nd Burien), Hotwire Online Coffee House (4410 California Ave SW), or the Law Offices of Gerald Robison (648 S. 152nd, Suite 7, Burien) by March 13. On March 13, 2010, pet food can be dropped off at the White Center Food Bank (10829 8th Ave SW, White Center) from 10 am to 4 pm. Volunteers from local Key Clubs and Kiwanis Clubs in the region will be volunteering at the White Center Food Bank to receive donations. On-line donations can also be made online at www.whitecenterfoodbank.org. The pet food collected during the drive will help low income families to feed their pets. Providing pet food to the food bank allows community member not to have to choose between feeding their pets and paying other bills. The White Center Food Bank feeds 1,700 families each month. During these times of high unemployment, people are coming to the food bank that never needed to come before. The Kiwanis Pet Food Drive is part of the Governors Project K-9. The project challenges Kiwanis members/clubs or districts to complete a Service Project to volunteer with, learn about or donate to an organization that helps dogs or uses dogs to help people. For more information about the Kiwanis Pet Food Drive, contact the White Center Food Bank’s Food Drive Coordinator Audrey Zemke at (206) 762-2848 or audrey@whitecenterfoodbank.org.
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Contact Congressman Jim McDermott re: After-school meal program for kids Send to Friend
By: Donna Pierce - 1/21/2010
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 From the Washington Afterschool Network:
This year, we see an increase in the need for meals for kids at the same time as a decrease in capacity for local nonprofit and government agencies to administer food programs. The federal “Ensuring All Students Year-round (EASY) Access to Meals and Snacks Act of 2009,” (H.R. 4274) would expand access to afterschool meals and snacks for low-income children and reduce paperwork for providers. The EASY Act:
• Makes it easier to get meals and snacks to kids who need them all through the year, not just during the school day.
• Allows local government agencies and private nonprofit organizations to feed children meals and snacks 365 days a year - after school, on weekends and school holidays, and during the summer - through the Summer Food Service Program. It allows agencies and organizations to operate one nutrition program throughout the year.
• Expands the year-round program that currently is being piloted in California to all states.
• Allows meals and snacks to be served after school, on weekends, and during school holidays through the year. Federal support for meals and snacks for kids is especially critical now as the economic crisis plunges families into poverty and drains state and local resources. Please take action today. Please send a message today and ask your U.S Congressperson to co-sponsor H.R. 4274.
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