Facelift for the Food Bank

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1 Spring/ Summer 2016 Facelift for the Food Bank Construction expands service area, improves flow The Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank has had a dramatic remodel. The food service area has been expanded in order to allow for a truer grocery shopping model, where people can move around freely, choose all their items and use IFCB Salmon Bucks to check out at the end. Salmon Bucks will help in the check out process, and will be distributed based on number of people in the household. While the construction was a challenge the food bank was moved into the clothing bank for 3 weeks the response from customers, volunteers and staff has been positive. The Food Bank service area during and after construction This remodel was designed to both serve the increasing number of people coming to IFCB, and to improve the shopping experience for customers. By expanding the service area, customers no longer have to slowly move through the Food Bank in a single file line, but can instead shop around as if they were in a grocery store. The Food Bank improvements fit with the IFCB mission of promoting self sufficiency by putting the shopping decisions back in the hands of our customers, rather than staff or volunteers.

2 Spring/Summer Check in Updates and Highlights Page Page 2 Lunch for the Break distributed more than 900 boxes of food during school breaks in the school year! - Brand NEW Program Success! IFCB now has heating and air conditioning, thanks to Kristonis & Lindor Windermere Real Estate. Thank you! Summer Calendar: Remodeled Food Bank Open House: June 2, 5-7pm Summer Lunch: June 23-August 25 Tools 4 School: August 20 Donate to IFCB: anytime! Share your thoughts / ideas / needs with us anytime! The members of 10U Purple baseball team from the Issaquah Baseball Club help back 30 boxes for Lunch for the Break. Try to be a rainbow in someone s cloud. ~Maya Angelou Executive Report: Culture of Philanthropy In the true spirit of giving I d like to talk about our beliefs about the culture of philanthropy here at the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank. First of all we love and need you all whether you volunteer once a week, drop off a bag of clothing occasionally, contribute $10 a month or $100 a month. We thrive because of our diverse contributors spirit of giving and connection to our mission. I apologize if you have heard my mantra before but I m going to say it again The IFCB is only part of the food security solution. In order to make profound change it will require engagement, partnership and support from all areas and levels of our community. Our major strategic goal for 2016 is outreach. We want every community member to know that we are here in case they have a need or know someone who is struggling or if they have some time and talents to share. One of the greatest treasures you can give the IFCB right now is the gift of sharing our message. If you care about us, talk about us! If you care about us, share with us. We want to hear your ideas and explore your passions for this work. Sometimes it seems like we never say thank you enough. THANK YOU! Thank you for engaging in our community by supporting THE cause YOU care about. Maybe it s early childhood education, maybe it s senior services, maybe it s animals or maybe it s the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank! Cori Walters, IFCB Executive Director & Leadership Eastside graduate Photo by: Barbara Roser

3 Spring/Summer 2016 Page 3 Customer Profile: Melisa s Story Melisa Carey is a strong, smart, independent woman a mother, a student and a wealth of information on things health and nutrition related. She is also an Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank customer. Melisa is a full time student at Ashford University, working toward her degree in integrated medicine. After she graduates, she plans to channel her passion for healthy living into a consultant position, where she can help people figure out ways to live and eat healthier. Melisa also works part time in her apartment complex, helping elderly and disabled residents with cooking and cleaning. She takes this opportunity to get experience for her future career and helps these residents live healthier lives through simple interventions like eating less processed food and using fewer chemical products in the home. These practices are in place in Melisa s own home, thanks in part to the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank. Melisa doesn t have a car and getting a bus to downtown and back home with groceries was a challenge. With Groceries to Go, IFCB s delivery program, Melisa orders her groceries online every week and they show up at her door each Wednesday. Because she chooses the food in her order, she s able to get the healthy food she and her two teen boys need. She loves the fact that she can get food from the Food Bank that helps her teach her sons healthy eating habits and provides good nutrition. In addition to the food she receives, Melisa loves the other programs IFCB offers, such as the Holiday Gift Barn. She appreciates the shopping model of the Holiday Gift Barn, and that the program is offered to help ease the burden on her and other parents during a very stressful time of year. Lunch for the Break, which provides food boxes during long school breaks, is another of her favorite programs, because it takes the burden off her of feeding two ravenous teen boys during the school breaks. Melisa made the conscious decision to step out of the work force to be home more with her two sons. She doesn t have the support of a large family and keenly felt the responsibility she has for raising her two boys. For that reason, she had to step back from being a donor to organizations like IFCB and take advantage of the available services. She knows first hand that donations and volunteer time go to good use at IFCB she sees it every week in her Groceries to Go delivery. You never know when the tables will turn and you re on the other side, she said. With her perspective on both the giving and receiving sides, Melisa said she is truly grateful for the services that are available to her. Melisa s sons, Trey (left), 15 and Blaise, 13. Big smiles for healthy food!

4 Spring/Summer 2016 Central Heat and AC come to the Food Bank In the past, the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank has been...unpleasant during any kind of cold or hot weather. Due to an old building and no central heating or air conditioning, it was cold in the winter and hot in the summer. This made our space less welcoming and accessible to customers and volunteers, particularly the elderly or very young. But no more! Thanks to a generous donation from Kristonis & Lindor Windermere Real Estate, IFCB has central air that keeps the building cool in the summer and warm in the winter. This improvement, along with the expansion of the Food Bank service area, is designed to make IFCB s space more comfortable, gracious and accessible to all customers and volunteers. The Food Bank is a place that should feel inviting and welcoming a place people want to shop, rather than need to shop. Page 4 IFCB staff (l-r) Megan Edwin, Mike Hatada, John Rittenhouse and Cori Walters show off the new construction behind and the new heat/ac above. Both projects are part of ongoing improvements at IFCB and show ongoing commitment to improving operations. Partner Highlight: Kristonis & Lindor Windermere Real Estate Fired Firework Show The heat and air conditioning from the article above wouldn t have been possible without the help of John Kritsonis & Karl Lindor of Windermere Real Estate. For their annual 4th of July Lake Sammamish Fireworks show they asked for donations to IFCB in lieu of donating to the cost of the fireworks, which totaled $22,000! This was enough to pay for a heating and air conditioning system for IFCB. For the 2016 Fireworks show their goal is to raise $30,000 in support of IFCB s Summer Lunch Program. Thank you! Fast Facts Stats and more to keep you informed In March 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics released their first statement ever on the negative effects of poverty on children. Read the full article here, or access it via communitiescount.org. The number of homeless students in King County increased 10.4% from the to the school year. The highest percentage is in Tukwila, where 1 in 9 students is homeless. King County is the 2nd wealthiest county in Washington, but that hides deep disparities. 5% of Sammamish residents report their health as being poor, while 23% of Burien residents do. *All data from communitiescount.org If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

5 Spring/Summer 2016 Page 5 Work Requirements Affect Food Stamps Single adults without dependents have requirements reinstated for working or volunteering Starting in 2016, thousands of people in King County may find their SNAP benefits (food stamps) suddenly cut off. This is due to a 1996 welfare law that requires able bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) to meet work or volunteer requirements. Washington, along with many other states, had received a waiver from this law during the recession that was based on unemployment rates. As the unemployment rate decreases, the waivers are expiring The waivers are determined by county, so not all counties in Washington will be affected. This rule requires ABAWDs to work 20 hours per week or volunteer 16 hours per week or participate in an approved school or job training program. If an ABAWD does not meet these requirements, they are eligible to receive SNAP for 3 months in a 36 month period before being cut off. They will regain eligibility if they start working, volunteering or are no longer an ABAWD (if they have a child, for example). This waiver expiration is affecting people across the county as well. An estimated 500,000 to a million people could lose food benefits in Requiring work or volunteer service in return for food benefits was a response to the assumption that ABAWDs must be taking advantage of the system if they aren t working. However, as many IFCB volunteers and donors know, that often is not the case. The ABAWD requirements don t take into account that people may be unemployed and looking for work, or may have other barriers such as being homeless. The requirements can be waived for people who are chronically homeless, but that involves frequent bouts of homelessness that not everyone experiences. *This article uses information from dshs.wa.gov and nytimes.com MEET A VOLUNTEER: Sonia Sonia Lam started volunteering with IFCB in March She volunteers twice a week and has already volunteered more than 100 hours since joining the team. She comes from the corporate world and when asked why she volunteers she explained that, "I want be able to give back and find myself and what's important...life is about humans and not a product, or selling a product." Sonia s favorite volunteer story is about a boy who came to the food bank with his mom. It was his birthday and his mom asked if there were any birthday cakes. Before she could get the cooler door open, she heard him wishing aloud, please let it be the hamburger cake. She came out of the cooler with cake in hand, and said, you mean this one?! His face lit up with joy at the sight of the hamburger cake. Thanks, Sonia! Volunteer Sonia Lam in the Food Bank We can t help everyone, but everyone can help someone. ~Ronald Reagan

6 ISSAQUAH FOOD & CLOTHING BANK 179 1st Ave. SE Issaquah, WA Phone: Fax: Non Profit Org. US Postage Paid Permit #652 Issaquah, WA THANK YOU to all our wonderful donors and volunteers! Our Mission The Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank provides basic needs to our community members to promote self-sufficiency. Would you prefer to get this newsletter via ? with the subject newsletter to save some paper! GET CONNECTED! 1. Volunteer We are in need of dedicated volunteers for the Food and Clothing Bank. Register online at issaquahfoodbank.org. 2. Donate Here s how to deliver your wonderful donations: Food: Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm Clothing: 24-hour drop box on 1st Ave SE Money: donate online at issaquahfoodbank.org 3. Hold a Drive Is there something you are particularly passionate about? Hold a drive! You can collect clothing, baby formula, toiletries, food, and more. For more ideas, cori@issaquahfoodbank.org.