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Food Bank in Desperate Need
Jul. 31st, 2008 02:54 pmYesterday I dropped off a few bags of food that Craig and I gathered from our home, none of which we knew we'd eat. Yet it was all good, non-perishable food, it's just it wasn't the "organic, whole foods" stuff that we eat now. There's a food bank across the street from St. Mary's Church run by a very tall man from India named Deep. He carried almost everything I had in one trip, and showed me inside. On Tuesday the food bank had 450 people show up. I saw them--they had been sitting there before 8am waiting for the food bank to open at 10am and there was a thick, long line running half way around the block by the middle of the three hours they're open twice each week. And when walked inside, I saw what they had ... or rather didn't have.
Along one small wall of their low-ceilinged warehouse were a few stacks of milk crates with all the food that they had left to give out today. I can't imagine how they rationed it for another 400+ people today. There wasn't enough there to feed more than ten families at best and Deep said that a woman from a local community organization was holding a food drive. Apparently, when she had gone to see their stores on Monday she cried. I don't blame her. It caught my breath to see so little.
I've been on welfare, I've been to food banks when I needed to and was grateful for having the extra food on hand. There was always abundance when I went, they gave me a big box and it often ended up being almost too heavy to lift. And now? Now there's enough to maybe fill a small plastic bag for each family that comes in. That's it.
If you're in Seattle and can help, please do so. It doesn't have to be much. If you have some canned or boxed food you know you're not going to eat and it's in good condition, bring it by. If you can spare a bit of money for a costco run, go pick up some canned food by the flat--every bit helps. This is my own personal food drive. I can't deliver it all to them myself, and I certainly don't have the money to buy more food for them, but I can ask that each of you try to fill a sack of goods--look for deals in the supermarket, or that can of peas that's still edible but no one wants it. Grab boxes of mac & cheese, rice mixes ... anything.
Another thing they could use are school supplies for the kids that come and snack boxes for their lunches to help them out. If you know some people who can scrounge up some used backpacks, notebooks, and pencil boxes (etc.) all in decent condition and start putting them together, it will be a big help. Ana and I could probably make one or two of them just with what we have here. Just think if a kid had a back pack, a notebook with paper, a box of pencils and other supplies, they'd be able to at least not feel so alienated from the rest of their class and would have the basic tools for learning in the modern public school.
Anyway, please help if you can. The food bank is right across the street from the church, and Deep would be very happy to get all he can for the people that come to him. Thanks.
Along one small wall of their low-ceilinged warehouse were a few stacks of milk crates with all the food that they had left to give out today. I can't imagine how they rationed it for another 400+ people today. There wasn't enough there to feed more than ten families at best and Deep said that a woman from a local community organization was holding a food drive. Apparently, when she had gone to see their stores on Monday she cried. I don't blame her. It caught my breath to see so little.
I've been on welfare, I've been to food banks when I needed to and was grateful for having the extra food on hand. There was always abundance when I went, they gave me a big box and it often ended up being almost too heavy to lift. And now? Now there's enough to maybe fill a small plastic bag for each family that comes in. That's it.
If you're in Seattle and can help, please do so. It doesn't have to be much. If you have some canned or boxed food you know you're not going to eat and it's in good condition, bring it by. If you can spare a bit of money for a costco run, go pick up some canned food by the flat--every bit helps. This is my own personal food drive. I can't deliver it all to them myself, and I certainly don't have the money to buy more food for them, but I can ask that each of you try to fill a sack of goods--look for deals in the supermarket, or that can of peas that's still edible but no one wants it. Grab boxes of mac & cheese, rice mixes ... anything.
Another thing they could use are school supplies for the kids that come and snack boxes for their lunches to help them out. If you know some people who can scrounge up some used backpacks, notebooks, and pencil boxes (etc.) all in decent condition and start putting them together, it will be a big help. Ana and I could probably make one or two of them just with what we have here. Just think if a kid had a back pack, a notebook with paper, a box of pencils and other supplies, they'd be able to at least not feel so alienated from the rest of their class and would have the basic tools for learning in the modern public school.
Anyway, please help if you can. The food bank is right across the street from the church, and Deep would be very happy to get all he can for the people that come to him. Thanks.
