July 1, 2021

The final day of Phase 2 has come and gone. It seems best to say it was simply typical. There were lots of happy people here all day, with a strong feeling of community. Despite the bittersweet feeling overhanging much, it was a very nice day of ‘Groceries for Families.’ The weather cooperated nicely, with a cool morning of marine air giving way to a warm afternoon. It’s so hard to believe it was furnace hot just three days ago. The morning was busy with lots of people dropping off donations. Thank you, everyone. The afternoon had a slow but steady line of families.

Groceries today were provided by Lighthouse, Highland Covenant, Sacred Heart School & Parish, Victory Court, Doxa, First United Methodist, Overlake Park Presbyterian, Bellevue Presbyterian and Crossroads Bible churches, as well as the Champions Foundation, The Bellevue Sunrise Rotary Club and the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 129 orders came in today and all went out to families, along with 24 carried over from yesterday. Thank you to all you donated today!

The AM crew was a mix of individuals from different churches, with some veterans and some new to the shift. They received all the incoming donations, packed bags of produce and did many extra tasks needed to set up the afternoon shift. Well done and thank you, crew!

Pastor Gerardo with El Dios Viviente Church in West Seattle came this afternoon to pick up food for his neighborhood. He’s able to get out any remaining market food to families tonight, which is a blessing to many. He’s been a great partner since the beginning. Please pray for his church and their ministry to the White Center community.

The City of Bellevue was recently received the National Civic League’s All-American City Award. ‘Groceries for Families’ was one of the local programs highlighted. You can read about it in the newest city publication: https://bellevuewa.gov/sites/default/files/media/pdf_document/2021/Its-Your-City-6-21.pdf. Scoll all the way to the last page.

Puzzles were passed out to all families for the third day. BOOM! They are so very popular. Parents, grandparents and kids lit up at the gift. Chissie had fun passing them out all week. Thank you!

A few stories and updates:

Mariana is a young girl who comes weekly with her mom and dad. They are not continuing in the program, so she drew up a lovely thank you note to present to Trenton. We will miss them.

Jerusalem is a young girl who comes weekly with her Grandpa. They are not continuing with the program. She bounded into the building to present us with a thank you note. We took a picture with her but didn’t realize it was only taken with her Grandpa’s phone. A picture of the note is attached.

Carla reached out this morning to say she wanted to thank the crew by buying everyone a Starbucks drink. Such an offer! We thought it was a bit much and rather complicated, so suggested ice cream bars would be a wonderful substitute. She came with a smile to say thank you, on her last day.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture reached out to us this week to extend the offer of food boxes being introduced by the state from July through September. This was a bit of a surprise. We’re in discussions with the WSDA and Cascadia Produce about how these might be folded into Phase 3, as well as with El Dios Viviente. Stay tuned for more information.

There were many goodbyes, hugs and waves today, as families said their goodbyes. It is a testiment to the feeling of community that people feel so connected relationally to Jubilee. Next week, the program will shift to Phase 3 on Wednesdays, beginning with 161 families. We’ll begin the process of talking to families on the waiting list soon.

Thank you, thank you, thank you…a million times, thank you. This community has come together over the past sixteen months to support many of the vulnerable families in this community. It has felt, from the beginning, exactly where we all should be. Phase 3 continues, yet today marks a special day. May you feel blessed and changed by your involvement.

Have a wonderful weekend, dear friends.

Ken Carpenter
Director- Community Care, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family