It’s been a busy year at the Kent Food Bank, as staff prepare for what is usually their busiest season.
“It’s up,” Executive Director Jeniece Choate said of the food bank’s numbers. “It’s definitely up.”
This past week alone, the food bank served 174 on Monday and 149 on Tuesday.
“We’re in the hundreds every day,” Choate said. “Unfortunately, that’s the normal now.”
In the month of October, Choate said the food bank served 2,002 families, up from 1,945 in 2008, which she said was also up considerably from the prior year.
In total, the bank gave out more than 107,000 pounds of food in the month of October alone. And the increase in clients is straining the food bank’s budget.
“We’re stretching our dollars as much as we can,” Choate said, adding that they try to buy as much in bulk as possible and rely heavily on food drives from the community, which pick up at this time of year. “We’re doing what we can.”
According to Choate, the main group seeing a rise in visits to the food bank are working and middle-class families.
“We’re seeing much more of a rise in working families,” she said. “They had an income and it dropped for whatever reason and they can’t make ends meet.”
The food bank offers weekly and monthly food baskets for their clients. The monthly baskets are non-perishable, while the weekly baskets include fresh food. Choate said 75 families this week returned for the weekly allotment after just receiving the monthly supplies.
“That’s a lot,” she said.
Weekly baskets are also available for the homeless, with those containing pop-top-ready foods that do not require cooking.
Choate said in addition, more people are using the clothing bank and the financial assistance, which is $30, and given by appointment to those who have received an eviction or disconnect notice.
But as both the cold season and the holidays approach, Choate expects to see the food bank’s numbers go even higher, especially for the Thanksgiving and holiday baskets, which include a whole chicken as well as holiday foods such as stuffing and cranberry, as well as fresh potatoes and onions.
As of the end of October, 1,300 families had already signed up.
“Usually by Christmas we have 2,000,” Choate said, adding that this year they expect to hit that number by Thanksgiving.
Choate said the food bank has only three paid employees and is relying heavily on its small army of volunteers to keep things moving, as well as the generosity of the Kent community.
“Our volunteers are great,” she said. “They’ve taken on a lot.
“Without the community and the volunteers, we couldn’t do any of this.”
ACCEPTING DONATIONS
The Kent Food Bank is located at 515 W. Harrison St., Suite 107. To be eligible for assistance, a family must live within the boundaries of the Kent School District and bring picture ID and current proof of address (ID only for the homeless) during any of the food bank’s open hours: 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. The clothing bank is open from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
In addition, the food bank is always accepting donations of non-perishable foods or cash. There is also a need for baby formula and high-protein items such as peanut butter, tuna and shelf-stable milk.
For more information, call 253-520-3550.
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