Warm Coats for Kids

Warm Coats for Kids distributed 1752 coats to needy children from October 2020 to January 2021 compared to 915 in 2019.

H.O.P.E Meals for Kids

H.O.P.E Meals for Kids distribute  34,231 meals to needy children from October 2020 to December 2020. H.O.P.E was serving 300 children per year before COVID.

Christmas House

Christmas House gave presents to 2273 children in December 2020 compared to 1350 in 2019. The need was great. With your help we met that need!

Thank You

by Kathy Moe, Executive Director

 

Thank you again for taking care of our community!


This past holiday season brought an amazing number of families to the food bank. We could not have served the masses without your generosity and support! Each program we offer to children more than doubled the amount served from the previous year. We feel 2021 will be a year of need for these programs as families are out of work and struggling. We know you understand the need and that you will help.

 

Never doubt how much we appreciate your support of Stanwood Camano Food Bank! Never doubt that you have helped this community stay fed, warm, and given Christmas cheer during this extraordinary time. Thank you. You are leaders and the Stanwood Camano Food Bank family.


We keep serving. Please keep serving with us.


With a gracious heart,
Kathy Moe

Thrift Store

by Caryl Vraney, Thrift Store Manager

 

From October to December the Thrift Store was busy with the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping, especially for those who have been on a budget these past months due  to all of the changes in our economy with Covid 19. December 2nd and 3rd we reopened afterhours for our semiannual Client Night. The entire store was 75% off! This is a very  special event for all of us to see how happy it can make a family feel to buy their loved ones holiday gifts as well as decorations at affordable prices and have a fun shopping
experience.


The Thrift Store hosts this members only event in June and December. Throughout the year the store has many sales that allow customers to purchase affordable merchandise. Our calendar of sales is posted on our website at www.stanwoodcamanofoodbank.org or
is available at the cash register.


Our thrift store provides financial support to the Food Bank through the sales of items donated by community members, businesses, and organizations. Because of the dedication of our volunteers, the majority of Thrift Store profits go to Food Bank services and programs.

 

Volunteers

by Julie Campbell

 

As the saying goes, we are more than a Food Bank!
We provide for our clients, but also to  volunteers. Indeed, a constant refrain among our volunteers is how much they love their time at the Food Bank and Thrift Store. While our work is serious, we seek to maintain with optimism, light hearts, and FUN! Just as our
clients come to receive food for the body, our volunteers come seeking food for the spirit.
The very definition of community is enacted every single day, as we toil away but also stop to share a laugh and a song. Music is always playing over a speaker, and requests are welcome! Some sing or hum along, some may even break out in a silly two-step. This spirit makes its way to our clients, many of whom are volunteers, as well. It doesn’t take long to catch the positive vibes that permeate our organization – and this is by design, not happenstance.
We gather for our “morning meeting” each distribution day, remind ourselves of the importance of recognizing the humanity of those whom we serve – and in turn, elevating our own humanity in the process. It is so easy to see our volunteers “catch the spirit” – just earlier this week, a volunteer who had been coming every other Tuesday said as he was clocking out “I think I’m going to start coming every Tuesday, if that’s okay.” There’s the spirit, and it’s better than “okay,” it’s fantabulous!

By The Numbers

October, November & December

TOTAL DAYS OPEN FOR DISTRIBUTION

37


TOTAL POUNDS OF FOOD DISTRIBUTED
328,132


FAMILIES SERVED
4130


INDIVIDUALS SERVED
19,683


CHILDREN SERVED (NOT INCLUDING BACKPACK)
5025


H.O.P.E Meals for Kids Backpack Program
34,231 Meals Served


SENIORS SERVED
7874

Community Outreach

by Wendy Foster, Community Outreach Specialist

 

While this past year has seen its challenges,  there is still one thing that can be depended upon, and that is the generosity of our community. A Simple Gesture donors have remained committed and dedicated to this wonderful program, even amidst an unprecedented year.


We launched A Simple Gesture in October of 2015. We collected 20 bags equaling 413 pounds. For perspective of how incredible ASG donors are, this past December we collected 8,840 pounds of food! Because of you every family in need had a traditional holiday meal on their table this winter. We simply couldn’t have done it without you!!!


We’d like to give a HUGE thank you to Steve and Paula Thomas for bringing Maria & family from Pivotal Consulting & Alaska Airlines to our volunteer family!!


Next A Simple Gesture is February 13th!