If you need equipment and supplies to stay warm this winter, please call or stop by the Food Bank. Depending availability, these items can be provided:
Sleeping Bags
Tents & Tarps
Blankets
Backpacks
Jackets
Hats & Gloves
We rely on donations from our community and partners to meet the demand of those living without permanent shelter.
Lost Lake Satellite Food Bank
FEEDING OUR NEIGHBORS
By Kathy Moe, Executive Director
Thank you again for taking care of our community!
Over the past year the Food Bank has been working to get food to the people of this community. There are
many families and seniors that cannot get to the Food Bank when it is open due to transportation difficulties
or work schedules. There is need in the Lost Lake Community! Bud Nestor donated a large 14 ft x 10 ft
utility shed that was turned into a satellite food bank for this Community.
With the help of several volunteers, the satellite was opened and serving families in September 2020. The
satellite is open on Wednesdays from 3pm – 7pm and Saturdays from 10am – 1pm. There are more than 60
families being fed in this neighborhood through this offshoot of the Stanwood Camano Food Bank. This
neighborhood thanks the donors for making this possible so they have food for their families.
We keep serving. Please keep serving with us.
Hope Against Hunger Fundraising Breakfast
Community Outreach
by Wendy Foster, Community Outreach Specialist
Hope Against Hunger breakfast, held in November, is the Food Bank’s only annual fundraiser. The money raised during this moving event puts food into the mouths of children facing food insecurity all year round, coats, scarves, and gloves to warm children in need through the fall winter and spring, and the magic of Christmas as they wake to find presents under their Christmas tree and stocking full of goodies to cherish. It also helps to fill the shelves for families who pick up food during our weekly distribution.
Hope Against Hunger 2020 was a drive-thru experience. We had to pivot to this experience due to COVID restrictions, keeping our attendees safe during this unprecedented time. Thank you to all who donated to this event and made it possible to get through a very turbulent year.
The Fundraising Committee is working diligently to make this year’s event the best one ever. Hope Against Hunger 2021 will be an in-person event at Camano Center. We will have a sit-down breakfast with a great Master of Ceremonies, inspirational speaker, and a short video. Do not forget the fantastic raffle baskets supplied from our Thrift Store and other contributors in our community.
If by chance we need to pivot again, Hope Against Hunger 2021 will then be a drive-thru event at Camano Center. We will have a video on our website for you to watch before driving through to collect your raffle tickets and wonderful breakfast. Raffle baskets will be pictured on our website, as well as the winners after the event.
We know that COVID is still affecting every part of our world, but in this generous community there will
always be Hope Against Hunger.
Community Helping Community
by Kathy Moe, Executive Director
Philanthropist of the year awards were given out March 26th by Stanwood Camano Area Foundation. The Business Making a Difference award was given to Bellingham Cold Storage for their part in helping the Food Bank with much needed storage. The Food Bank facility is very small and with the increase of families needing food, we were going to need more space. The H.O.P.E. Meals for Kids program increased when COVID hit and schools closed leaving parents to feed their children 3 meals a day. All of this contributed to needing more space to store and prepare for packing of food for the clients that so needed our services.
Bellingham Cold Storage was right there for the Food Bank! They donated more than 10,000 square feet of dry storage. When we were able to buy pallets of poultry, beef, and pork they were right there again offering cold storage for our pallets of proteins.
The above pictures may give the perception of lots of food; however, the Food Bank could go through this stockpile in less than 1 month. We continue to buy food in bulk at reduced prices and also get free food from the government programs. In the past we just bought what we had space for and in these times that wouldn’t work.
We are so grateful for this generous donation of space!
Doug Thomas from Bellingham Cold Storage said that his company is pleased to help the community. “Bellingham Cold Storage is really excited to be in the Stanwood community with our new facility, and we’re happy to help out wherever we can.”
Jennifer Child
Assistant Thrift Store Manager
Thrift Store
by Caryl Vraney, Thrift Store Manager
We are happy to announce we have an Assistant Thrift Store Manager! We are so excited to have Jennifer Child join our Thrift Store team. She comes with great customer service experience and excellent computer skills. She was working as a volunteer in the Thrift Store
processing incoming donations. She did pricing, sorting, and displays on the floor for sale.
She is great at organizing and keeping things tidy.
She is a wizard at Facebook. She currently does Facebook live for Tuesday’s Treasures with me. We highlight the “coolest” items for sale at the Thrift Store each Tuesday and then we have a “treasure word”. If you say the “treasure word” when you are checking out you get 50% off your entire purchase. We are having so much fun with Facebook Live! Many of our customers tune in to find out the treasure for the week and the “treasure word” so they can get 50% off their purchase.
Please welcome Jennifer the next time you are at the Thrift Store!
Volunteers
by Julie Campbell, Volunteer Coordinator
Volunteering is a great way to connect with community. Walking through the Food Bank or Thrift Store on a typical day, one sees many new connections among folks who might otherwise never meet: a witty elder and a college football player stocking shelves, two teen friends laughing along with a local farmer as she scrolls through phone pics of her prize pig’s latest antics, three men from different generations and walks of life all wheeling cartloads of groceries to folks waiting at the curbside, a thrift store cashier chatting up each passing customer – I could go on! This is a place both to give back to the community and to connect with others in a meaningful way.
I became a Food Bank volunteer in July 2018 when I moved to Camano Island from Tacoma, where I lived for nearly 30 years. I wanted to get to know my new community, and what a fantastic idea that was! Soon, I made friends and enjoyed fun and worthwhile days.
When folks work for a common cause, we bond. Service helps us see each other’s hearts. I later joined the staff as Volunteer Coordinator, and I am especially humbled and grateful to have contributed through the challenges of the pandemic. Still, I feel called to move from staff member back to volunteer in late July following our Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon. This isn’t “goodbye,” but more like “see you
next week” when I’ll be back again wearing my volunteer badge.
When I first volunteered in 2018, I wanted to find my place in my new community. Now, I walk into QFC and I see friends every time – much like Freddie’s back in Tacoma – and I love that. But it’s not just about seeing folks I know – it’s about glimpsing the heart of this
community. Through incredible donations of time, talent, and treasure, you have collectively kept our Food Bank thriving during hard times. I’ll be proud to be a Food Bank volunteer once again – won’t you join me?
Volunteer Coordinator Needed!
Are you a people person, energetic, and interested in doing great work for your community? Then this position may be just right for you!!
The Volunteer Coordinator provides support to the Clients, Volunteers, Thrift Store Manager, Food Bank Coordinator and Operations Coordinator at Stanwood Camano Food Bank and Thrift Store. The Coordinator maintains organization and flow of warehouse on distribution and non-distribution days, is available to clients and volunteers for questions and special requests and is an active, leading member of the TEAM. The Volunteer Coordinator generates excitement about volunteerism, engages with volunteers, leads and
coordinates volunteer work groups and activities, finds creative ways to engage and keep new volunteers, participates in promotional events, and fosters an environment of trust, respect and empowerment for employees, volunteers, and clients.
If this sounds like you please submit your resume to director@scfbs.org.
Thank You for Your Generosity
On behalf of everyone at Stanwood Camano Food Bank Services, I would like to thank you for supporting the organization during this unprecedented year with COVID 19. A record numbers of families need our services and it seems to be continuing. Although there has been some relief from the Federal Government, people are still out of work due to COVID, and some are just getting back to work while all the bills have been piling up.
Your support is crucial to keep food on the table and programs running for families in our community. If you’re able, we’d love it if you could make a donation to help us keep serving food and meeting the basic needs of individuals and families in our community.
Thank you in advance for your contribution. Your donation will go toward food and basic needs such as laundry detergent, pet food, diapers and wipes, and personal care items.
Here are the ways you can make a donation:
— Make a donation online at www.stanwoodcamanofoodbank.org
— Call us at 360-629-2789
— Send a check in the envelope we’ve included (no cash, please!)
— Stop by the food bank and we can process your donation via computer or square.
With Gratitude,
Kathy Moe
Executive Director