Hunger Response Network News from Northwest Harvest

Hunger Response Network News July 2013 IN THIS ISSUE: - Best Practices  - Food Safety - Advocacy - Procurement - Partners in Action      Inserts $MART BUY$  (PDF)   Recipes  (PDF)    CALENDAR:    Aug 13: AHNC Membership Meeting Sept 2: Northwest Harvest closed for Labor Day Sept 18-20: WFC Conference  Spread the word about Summer Meals! Make sure summer meals flyers are at your registration table, in every bag, and in a place where customers can see and take them. If you need more, let us know!   Northwest Harvest  P.O. Box 12272  Seattle, WA 98102 877.353.7469 A Letter From Shelley Dear Partners,    While summer is an exciting time for many people, we know it can be a struggle for many food bank and meal program clients and many of you are stepping it up during the summer months to meet your clients' needs. We are continually impressed by the creative methods you use to address your clients' challenges. This quarter's newsletter focuses on a few creative ways that partners have found to address specific needs in their community. MORE...  Best Practices Filling the gaps with targeted food drives  For this month's Best Practices focus, we sat down with Suzy McNeilly of the Council on Aging and Human Services Food Bank to learn about their targeted cereal food drive. What was the cereal food drive? The Cereal Food Drive was held in cooperation with the local Rosauers 13-Hours Cereal Sale and a local motorcycle club. The club had been asking to sponsor a food drive (in memory of a long time Colfax Food Bank volunteer)--so the timing was perfect, and we had volunteers ready to organize, be present and transport the donations. MORE...  Food Safety The Rule: 6" off the floor and 6" away from the wall Limited space can make food storage stressful. With so many distinctive types of food bank and pantry facilities, everyone seems to have a different set of physical constraints. This article will cover the rules of food storage and solutions. Let's review the rules first. Keep food in rooms designated for storage-not in restrooms or hallways. Do not store frozen, refrigerated or dry food directly on the floor or under overhead pipes. All frozen, refrigerated and dry food should be kept at least six inches off the floor and at least six inches away from walls.  MORE...  Advocacy Works! Let's keep the momentum going!  Thanks to your efforts to educate lawmakers, we've pulled off some major successes: Your phone calls, emails, and signing on to our petition opposing cuts to SNAP in the Farm Bill resulted in the House voting down a terrible bill that would have cut SNAP by $20.5 billion!    Your help collecting personalized messages from clients and your visits on Hunger Action Day resulted in the passing of a state budget that restores critically needed funding to the State Food Assistance, Farm to School and Small Farms Direct Marketing programs and avoids harmful cuts to critical support services! But the work doesn't end here. In fact, we need your help more than ever. Shortly after voting down the Farm Bill, the House narrowly passed a Farm Bill that contains agriculture programs only. SNAP and other nutrition programs, including TEFAP and CSFP, will be put in separate legislation, leaving these programs more vulnerable for deep cuts. We need your help with contacting your members of Congress to let them know how important these programs are to the people you serve. MORE...   Legal Assistance     Is your program in compliance? You sit on a food bank board, or are an executive director or volunteer that helps run the food bank. You love your organization and are passionate about its mission to feed the hungry. You spend hours assuring the organization's programs are well-run and raising adequate funds and donations to support them. Yet, you have this nagging feeling that you may be overlooking some legal requirement that will come back to haunt the organization in the future. The Nonprofit Legal Self-Assessment Checklist is the tool for you.   MORE...  Welcome Eu-wanda Eagans!  Dear Partners,  I am very excited to be a part of the Northwest Harvest family and look forward to working with each of you to reduce our hunger needs in this state.  The opportunity to be a part of the Northwest Harvest team  is a dream come true for me.  To be able to use my experience in engineering, operations and manufacturing to directly impact our communities in meeting a basic need, is something I have wanted to do for a long time.  In my role as Chief Operating Officer, I am responsible for the strategic oversight of Northwest Harvest Operations which includes Warehouse Operations, Transportation and Logistics, Food Procurement, and Partner Programs. MORE...  Procurement Hello Friends,   It's starting to really warm up over here. Today as I write this it is going to be 92 degrees here in Western Washington, and even hotter on the eastern side of the mountains. It makes one wonder how our friends in need cope on a daily basis when it gets this hot. We continue to get terrific feedback on our ongoing program of purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables-people seem to love them!  MORE...   Partners in Action  Nutrition Education: Chicken Soup Brigade In this edition of Partners in Action we highlight Pots and Plans, a program created by Chicken Soup Brigade (CSB) in Seattle. Pots and Plans is a six-week series of cooking and nutrition classes designed to help seniors learn to cook nutritious, simple recipes. The curriculum was created by registered dietitians and nutritionists at CSB, a program of Lifelong AIDS Alliance. Each class focuses on a different nutrition-related topic and includes an activity or educational component.   MORE...

Northwest Harvest Advocates Update

Advocates UpdateMonday, July 29      IN THIS ISSUE August Recess Advocacy Actions to Protect SNAP Upcoming Events            Aug. 13 2:30-4:30pm Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition, General Membership Meeting Sept. 18-20 Washington Food Coalition Annual Conference Northwest Harvest PO Box 12272 Seattle, Washington 98102 800-722-6924 The mission of Northwest Harvest is to provide nutritious food to hungry people statewide in a manner that respects their dignity, while fighting to eliminate hunger.  Your Weekly Action Alert: August Recess Advocacy Actions to Protect SNAP Federal Level:   It appears unlikely that Congress will pass a Farm Bill before they break for the August recess. When Congress returns at the beginning of September, they will have only 2-3 weeks to pass a Farm Bill or else pass a continuing resolution because the current Farm Bill will expire on September 30. Read more     Take Action: Please take a few minutes to do the following to urge your member of Congress to protect and strengthen SNAP:  Call or email your member of Congress and ask them to  sign onto this letter from Rep. Jim McGovern and Rep. Rosa DeLauro. The letter is addressed to Speaker Boehner and Leader Pelosi, and urges them to protect SNAP. If you live in Rep. Suzan DelBene's district, please thank her for signing onto the letter. The deadline for signing onto the letter is August 2, so please don't delay in contacting your member today! You can send an email to our Senators and to your Representative, urging them to protect and strengthen SNAP by using this online form, brought to you by our friends at the Children's Alliance.  Now that you've taken action, please forward this message to others in your network! Take Action   Tip for our Partners: Have a volunteer or staff member staff a table at the end of your grocery line with a laptop that is connected to your internet network. You can pull up the online form from the Children's Alliance and have clients complete the information with their name and address to send a message to their Senators and Representative. Encourage them to personalize the message on the form with a quick explanation about how cuts to SNAP would hurt them and their families. Be sure to clear the web browser memory after someone completes the form so that you can complete a new form for each customer.

Food Lifeline Advocacy Update

ADVOCACY UPDATE Dear WA Food Coalition, Although advocacy and lobbying are a huge part of what we do in the Public Policy Department, we also manage all of Food Lifeline's research efforts. In this update I'd like to share with you the results of the newly released Map the Meal Gap statistics from Feeding America and the Hunger in America Study which is currently under way. The information we gather through these studies is critical for Food Lifeline to help us determine where the greatest need lies and where we need to direct resources and shape our programs. These statistics are also used in conversations with lawmakers, donors, and community members to communicate the importance of the work Food Lifeline does to end hunger in Western Washington.    I hope you enjoy hearing about the work we do and will use the results in your discussions with others about hunger in Washington.    Sincerely,Gina Clark Director of Public Policy MAP THE MEAL GAP NUMBERS RELEASED Each year Feeding America releases the Map the Meal Gap study, providing updated, comparable information about the state of hunger throughout the US. Last month new numbers were released for Washington State, showing that the food insecurity rate in Washington increased from 15.9% to 16.1% or 1.1 million individuals. InFood Lifeline's service area the food insecurity rate held steady at 14.5%. At the same time, the cost per meal state-wide increased from $2.53 to $2.64, on par with the national average, which means an additional $179,573,125 would be needed to fill the gap. Feeding America has created a helpful website, which allows you to zero in on your county and find the food insecurity rate, number of food insecure people, average cost of a meal, and the additional amount of money required to meet the need in 2011. The same information is available for children only. It's also a great tool to use to share with your friends and family to talk about the need in your community. HUNGER IN AMERICA - Data collectors hit the road! Starting in April, Food Lifeline brought on a team of data collectors who have been traveling around Western Washington to our partner food banks, meal programs, and shelters to collect data for the Hunger in America 2014 study. They will be out in the field until the end of August and will visit nearly 100 agencies by the time data collection is complete. "I have been surprised that most of the people who visit the food banks look like you and me. The more I interact with them, the more alike I think we all are" shared Doris Chung during a recent visit to Skagit Valley Neighbors in Need. "Although there is a stigma that those who use these programs are lazy or unintelligent, the truth is that we all have a chance of experiencing a sudden job loss, or an unexpected health decline that increases our vulnerability to food insecurity." ______ and ______ setting up for data collection. Hunger in America is a nation-wide study conducted every four years by Feeding America affiliates throughout the country. It is truly the only way Food Lifeline gets much of the information about the clients our agencies are serving including information like how often they visit the food bank, their employment and housing status, and what types of difficult decisions they need to make such as purchasing food or paying for utilities or rent. Through the study, data collectors have the chance to see the wide range of agencies Food Lifeline works with as well as the clients served. "In some cases I have been able to inform clients of other services that can help meet their needs, which helps me feel like I am having a direct impact on their lives. At one site I told a mother about the school lunch assistance programs available during the school year, and now I know at least one child is less likely to be hungry at school," data collector Rebecca Rathbun says. To get a sense of what type of information Food Lifeline gets from the Hunger in America Study, take a look at the 2010 results for the nation-wide report and theWashington state report Food Lifeline feeds hungry people. We stock the shelves and fill the tables of 275 food banks, meal programs and shelters throughout Western Washington.  Food Lifeline thanks MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, for supporting our advocacy program.

Meet our Member: Project Hope in Lynden

By Paige Teeny, Member Services Director

Nestled in between Mt. Baker, Bellingham, and the Canadian Boarder, sits the quaint town of Lynden. Even while this farming town is home to little over 12,000 people, Project Hope remains a source of "hope" for those needing emergency services. Project Hope has been serving the Lynden communities for over 30 years. While at first the food bank hopped around store front to store front, it has found it's permanent home with the Christian Hope Association. The building used to be a nursing home, which has provided the convenience of a large walk in fridge and freezer for Project Hope. Along with food, Project Hope executive director  Jim Grennell manages New Ways Ministries, which provides temporary housing to women and children in transition. When these women arrive, not only do they receive housing, but are automatically enrolled in the food bank and receive food right away to stock their fridges. 

The food bank is able to serve around 200 families a week. It is open on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays, with families coming around once a week. On site they can also help clients with housing and utility bills, and provide additional social services. They even have clothes that clients can choose from! Project Hope benefits from it's small community with volunteers coming back year after year. Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts will come in and volunteer, but as they grow, will remember the special memories spent there, and donate food. Even in this small town, there is a wait list to volunteer!

While Project Hope has a surplus of volunteers, EFAP is as ever important to this small food bank. Jim has remarked that even $1,000 would be devastating for them and have real effects on what he can provide to clients.

You can find more about Project Hope and the other services they provide here.

Where volunteers pack boxes for clients.

Redistribution center and generously large kitchen. 

Donated clothing!

Additional packing area.

The large room where Project Hope can store dry goods.

Meet Our Members: North Kitsap Fishline

By: Paige Teeny, Member Services Director

Looking over the Olympia Mountains, and the beautiful bay, North Kitsap Fishline serves the communities of Poulsbo, Keyport, and Suquamish. For over 45 years, North Kitsap Fishline has provided emergency food services and a very popular thrift store, Second Season, to this community. Executive Director, Mary Nader, describes how the organizations got it start during the War on Poverty in the 60s. She remarks how people saw need in their community and wanted to respond and fill the gaps.

Recently, Fishline changed from food box model to client choice or shopping model. While the transition was spurred by volunteers, it brought together clients, volunteers, professionals, and staff to create a remarkable use of space and resources. How they have achieved success lies in their dedicated volunteers and a the use of "fish bucks". 20 Fish Bucks are give to clients at the beginning of each week, with five more given for each additional family member. At the beginning of each client's shopping, they are given a sheet of paper with how many fish bucks they have left, along with a list of commonly found items in the market to tick off. Items are priced on availability and can change depending how long it has to last. A loaf of Bread, for example, is almost always priced at one fish buck. However, golden raspberries, might be much more. The client get's to choose what works best for them each week. The strong grocery relocation program they have with local groceries help them keep items fresh. After the Client has gone through the area, they then take their groceries to the checkout, where a volunteer counts how many fish bucks they have spent, and then let's them know their total afterwards. Mary has remarked on the countless positive feedback received form clients and how many even have leftover fish bucks at the end of the week.

 Fishline is hoping to convert all their commodities and emergency boxes over to the shopping model.

Specials are posted to let clients know they can get more bang for their Fish Buck!

Their wonderful fridges keep produce cold but placed wonderfully to let clients choose!

Clients choosing and checking out.

Bread is usually 1 Fish Buck!

Clients have wonderful desserts available as well.

Produce section offer array of vegetables and fruits to choose

One Client wanted me to take a picture of her with her bag and commented she loves the new model.

The area is nice and roomy to accommodate  families!

North Kitsap Fishline other programs include a backpack program called “Food for Thought”, a grocery delivery services to seniors and disabled persons, and “e-boxes” or monthly emergency boxes. Fishline also has a Housing placement person come in every day to meet with clients and help them find housing. To learn more about how North Kitsap Fishline is helping, you can find their website here!

FARM BILL Action Alert from AHNC

FARM BILL Action Alert  THURSDAY, July 11 the House Rules Committee plans a vote that could take SNAP out of the Farm Bill - creating an ag-only bill and a SNAP-only bill out of the current Farm Bill structure. That will just  open the door for an onslaught of stand-alone amendments that would dismantle SNAP as we know it. Though the House Farm Bill - full of draconian measures aimed squarely at the food stamp program - failed at the end of June, the House Republicans are doing all they can to revive the bill. Now their proposal is even worse. It would disconnect what we are so proud of in Washington State: here, we look at both agriculture and nutrition assistance as part of one food system: no one is going hungry and farming is a thriving way of life. Here, farmers, anti-hunger advocates, anti-poverty agencies, chefs, communities of faith and more all have an interest in the Farm Bill because we all care about feeding people. Together, we have worked to make Washington a place that fights hard against hunger. Don't let the House Republicans split up the Farm Bill and break apart our common interests in feeding people. Don't open the door wider for Congress to decimate the most effective anti-hunger program in our country. The widespread grassroots action against the draconian cuts to food stamps helped defeat the House Farm Bill a few weeks ago. House members added further measures that would have imposed new restrictions on who can get SNAP benefits; work requirements and incentives to states that would have had the perverse outcome of paying states to cut unemployed people off SNAP who were looking for jobs, and other deeply damaging measures.   Looking at those amendments, we are DEEPLY CONCERNED about what could happen to SNAP in a stand-alone bill. TAKE ACTION: We are asking for a widespread response RIGHT NOW to stop this proposal in its tracks. Call your Representative in Congress IMMEDIATELY. You canlook up his or her contact information here. (a sample message): "I live in your district, and I support SNAP.  Please oppose any effort to take SNAP out of the Farm Bill, and any stand-alone proposals to cut SNAP benefits or restrict access and eligibility. Too many people are hungry and struggling in our communities." Forward this alert NOW to your networks, colleagues and friends. Please ask them to make a call, too. We were overwhelmed and humbled by your many and quick responses to our alerts in June asking for your voices to Congress --- we still need you! Please act now.   Thank you - Claire Some current articles on splitting SNAP from agriculture in Farm Bill:   Reuters  Roll Call  Follow us on

Wenatchee Conference Tours: A Perspective

I might have had the good fortune of meeting several of you in person in my short time with the Washington Food Coalition, but I would like to take this time to formally introduce myself. My name is Sariga Santhosh and I am an AmeriCorps VISTA member with the Washington Food Coalition. This year, I took over some aspects of conference planning as part of my service duties, which is why I am writing to you today. I recently went on a trip to Wenatchee to get a better understanding of the exciting tours we have planned this year at our conference and I wanted to cast a spotlight on a couple of tours I personally enjoyed. 

Driving around on a beautiful Wenatchee afternoon

Community Cupboard and Downtown Leavenworth

My trip to Wenatchee started in the whimsical town of Leavenworth to take a peek at Community Cupboard, a local organization that does a whole lot of good in its community. Community Cupboard started as a food bank in the basement of a Methodist church in 1983. Thanks to a generous donation by the town of Leavenworth, the food bank today has relocated to a larger space that stays open 6 days a week and serves about 250 families a month.  Since its humble beginnings, it has grown to accommodate a thrift store and an emergency services agency that provides local residents with emergency shelter, rent, transportation, and utility assistance throughout the year.

The thrift store

The food bank

An emergency shelter space

It was interesting to see how successfully Community Cupboard operates. The entire organization is staffed primarily by a team of dedicated volunteers.  I met a gentleman named Stuart, who has been with Community Cupboard for over 25 years! Community Cupboard relies almost wholly on sales from the thrift store and the generosity of its donors to sustain itself. However, the organization is a beloved fixture that provides countless services to the locals who consider it a valuable resource. I overheard an exchange between a regular customer and a staff member about how grateful they are for Community Cupboard in their small town; a place they can rely on to put food on their tables. It struck me that in towns like Leavenworth, where non-profits and other social services agencies are rare, organizations like Community Cupboard shoulder the main, if not the sole, responsibility for the welfare of its clientele. My time at Community Cupboard reminded me why people like Stuart do what they do: their commitment to giving back to their neighbors in need.

Some volunteers busy at work!

After the tour, I headed to downtown Leavenworth to grab lunch and stroll through a town that can best be described as ‘Little Bavaria.’ Everything from the family-owned stores selling German fare, accordion players in the street, to restaurants serving bratwursts and schnitzel, stayed as authentic as possible to its roots. This area is a tourist’s dream come true with several specialty shops that sell cute knick knacks, friendly locals, and the beautiful Cascades providing a gorgeous backdrop to the already picturesque town.  I had a lot of fun on this tour and look forward to returning to Leavenworth in the near future!

Downtown Leavenworth

Pybus Public Market

Next, I headed to downtown Wenatchee’s newest attraction, Pybus Public Market to figure out what the deal was with the area’s version of Seattle’s Pike Place Market. The market is situated in the renovated shop of Wenatchee native and blacksmith, E.T Pybus. The market boasts original rafters, beams, and flooring from the early 20th century store. Today, the space is dominated by specialty stores that consist of a florist, a candy store, a tea store, a fish market, and a French-German bakery, to name a few.

Concept drawing of completed market

The restored shop of E.T Pybus, now Wenatchee's newest hot spot!

My tour started with a lesson in history by one of the market managers, Alex. After giving me an insightful account of the life of one of Wenatchee’s most notable citizens, E.T Pybus, we walked around the market, looking at the locally-owned businesses that call this newest local attraction 'home.’ The stores at Pybus are as eclectic as they are interesting. For instance, there is a fun shop called D’Olivo that specializes in infused olive oil. Another interesting component of Pybus Market is their state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen, which can be rented by the public for cooking classes and catering purposes. However, Pybus Public Market’s biggest draw is in the name itself: it is a market. Their farmer’s market is open every Wednesdays and Saturdays for an impressive 5 hours and accommodates hundreds of local farmers and businesses. While acting informally as a museum to honor the legacy and work of E.T Pybus, it also serves as a unique community center, drawing people of all ages with its multiple attractions.

Stores at Pybus Public Market (additional store openings in September)

Dinner at South, a Southern American fusion restaurant that uses all Wenatchee-grown products in its menu. Yum!

When I visited the market in late June, Pybus Public Market was just gearing up for its official opening weekend on June 22^nd. By September, more unique stores will be opening in the market. The market has recruited a local sculptor, who has been working on site on a bronze sculpture of E.T Pybus all summer. The piece is scheduled to be unveiled a week before the conference. Starting this summer, a restored rail car will periodically run through the market and act as a stage to the various musical acts that wish to perform. Since the weather promises to be beautiful in September, another option for conference attendees would be to rent bicycles and explore the nearby waterfront. And finally, for those wishing to stick around Wenatchee a few hours after the conference or through the weekend, check out their artisan market between 5 PM and 8 PM that occurs every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month. With so many fun choices to choose from, Pybus Public Market promises to have something for everyone!

Snowdrift Company

My third and final tour of the day was at this charming, 60 acre orchard run by 5^th generation apple-growers, the Ringsruds. This family-run operation started experimenting with hard ciders in 2009 and has since grown to include several varieties, including the award-winning Cidermaker’s Reserve, which placed 1st in a competition in England, and a pear cider. Everything from the harvesting of the fruits to the corking of bottles is done by hand, making this a true artisan cidery. Each member of the family has a unique role in the business. From learning under expert cider makers in Europe to taking agriculture classes at the local college, the diverse products of Snowdrift Company reflects the Ringsruds’ commitment to putting out a superior product.  

Apples from the Ringsrud orchard

The tour started in the family’s renovated shed, which doubles as the cider factory. This space houses barrels upon barrels of product that can sit as long as 18 to 20 months before hitting the shelves of local retailers. Each genius contraption comes with an explanation of its purpose in the cider making process. As a novice to the process, I found every detail fascinating. My tour guide, Lars might as well be a walking encyclopedia of all things apple. He thoroughly explained the complex undertones present in each of my 4 samples, while we strolled around the orchard looking at the types of apple used in their ciders.  Their orchard produces over 40 varieties of applies, which range from the traditional such as the Red Delicious to more exotic French and British versions like the Yarlington Mill, Kingston Black, and Dabinette.

Snowdrift Ciders

With an intimate knowledge of the taste, texture, and other characteristics of all the apples they grow, the Ringsrud family has been combining different combinations of fruit to produce their unique beverages to please the palate of even the pickiest cider snob. All ciders are available for purchase on site. Ciders are also available at select Whole Foods, PCC, Central Market and Zupan’s. I would highly encourage cider lovers to attend this tour. Between the delicious samples, your tour guide’s genuine love and interest in his work, and the breathtaking views from the orchard, this is a tour you don’t want to miss!