July 7, 2021

Welcome to Phase 3! In short, today was awesome and the operation worked. There’s so much to tell you, so get ready for the fire hose of sharing.

The weather has been wonderful, with cool mornings and warm afternoons. What a difference a week makes. Things now start on Tuesday, with lots of shoppers dropping of groceries and pantry items all morning long. For some people, this was no change from last week. For the other 2/3, it was a different day which had some people off schedule. Yet, everyone came who was expected. By noon, the lobby was full with groceries ready to go out. Thank you to everyone who donated this week.

The list of those providing groceries and produce is lengthy because all are on one day now:

Churches: 24-Seven, Bellevue Christian Reformed, Bellevue Presbyterian, Calvary Chapel Eastside, Cornerstone Fellowship, Covenant Presbyterian, Creekside Covenant, Crossroads Bible, Doxa, First United Methodist, Newport Covenant, Overlake Park Presbyterian, Sacred Heart, St. Louise, St. Madeleine Sophie, Victory Court, Westminster Chapel

Other Partners: Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club, Champions Foundation, Jubilee Friends, Kiwanis of Bellevue, Rotary Bellevue Sunrise

Families also were adjusting to new days (Wednesday only) and times (10am-3pm). The line at 10am was short but had some familiar faces. The first couple of hours was a slow but steady pace. By 1pm, the pace picked up and kept a good rhythm right to the end at 3pm. There was a short line much of the afternoon but nothing lengthy. We checked in 120 of the 161 registered families, which wasn’t surprising. Communication to some families has been difficult, with voice mails, emails, and different languages. We were resigned to the fact that not all families would know the new schedule. We will now reach out to the missing 41 more directly

There are six main shifts of volunteers which support the operation on Tuesdays & Wednesdays. Tuesday morning had a crew of 8 from Bellevue Presbyterian Church who received all the incoming donations and sorted much of the grocery store foods. Tuesday afternoon’s crew of 6 put the final preparations in place for the operation, making sure things were organized, stocked, and ready to go. The first shift today at 8am had eight volunteers setting up the entire operation, including all tables and new stations. They also staged all the initial foods, such as produce, groceries, and market items. The 2nd shift today at 9:30am had eight volunteers running the first half of the operation until 12:30pm. This involved serving the families, helping them, talking with them, and keeping all areas stocked. The 3rd shift today at 12:15pm relieved the second shift and ran the operation until 3pm. The 4th shift at 3pm had eight volunteers tearing down the entire operation, including packing any remaining market foods to be sent elsewhere. That’s 46 people to make the operation run over two days. It was awesome! Thank you, everyone.

We’re continuing to receive donations from local stores, delivered by volunteers, which we want to always acknowledge and thank. Food from Safeway Thrasher’s Corner was brought by Dale & Kathy. Food from Whole Foods Bellevue was brought by Fred. Food from QFC Crossroads was brought by Gil, Mike, and Kyle. Food from Trader Joe’s was brought by Fred. Food from a local distributor was brought by Mike & Gil. Thank you, everyone.

The operation for families is now set up like a one-way route through a market, station to station. After checking in, they take a QFC shopping cart and move their way through the maze, stopping at each station to select what they like. Today, there were 11 stations: soap & oil, non-perishables, food boxes, pantry, sandwiches, grocery bags, produce, market, bakery, pieces of bread, and soda. The flow is intentionally a slower pace, allowing families time to choose. At most stations, there is a volunteer, allowing for personal interaction. After one day, the consensus was it was an overwhelming success. The families seemed very happy and enjoyed the experience. Volunteers were productive but also had lots of time to talk with families. It felt like a community, and it was beautiful to watch.

As mentioned late last week, we were contacted by the Washington State Department of Agriculture about food boxes they are offering from July 1 to September 30. This was unexpected, so had not been in our calculation or operational plans. On Friday, we made the decision to accept the boxes and figured out how they could be added to the operation. They certainly provide a nice variety of foods for the families, much like the USDA boxes did. These boxes are smaller and will have rotating items, all of which come from WA state. Saying yes also keeps us in the conversation when other things become available. Additionally, it allowed El Dios Viviente Church in West Seattle to also be included, providing food boxes for their families. We actually weren’t sure boxes would come today, since it was so last minute, but they did arrive at 11:30am. Next week, our delivery window will be 8-10am.

Senior lunches were canceled yesterday because Barb came down with a sinus infection.

St. Monica’s Catholic Parish was invited back to partner with us as they did prior to May 31. They have many connections in the county to get food to people. They came at 3:30pm to pick up all remaining food boxes and market foods. It is wonderful to be connected with them again and ensures extra food can get to other families.

A few stories:

Lily came for groceries today and asked to take sandwiches to the homeless in Seattle tomorrow. Four boxes are packed for her in the refrigerator. She’ll come at 10:30am tomorrow. The timing doesn’t work out well to get a picture of her or her email report. Please pray for her.

Rose came today, although she is not yet registered for Phase 3. She is on the waiting list. She recently left her job at Home Depot in south Seattle to take a job at the new Amazon grocery store in Factoria. It is closer to home and offered a signing bonus. She’s very unhappy because the hours are very few and the work is in their coolers. She’s sorry she left Home Depot. It’s going to be a hard lesson for her to learn. Please pray for her.

In late May, we profiled a couple of families from Morocco who had shown up at Jubilee seeking help. One family had just arrived and the wife was pregnant. They were all struggling but expressed how happy they were in Bellevue, with the diversity and welcoming community. Both families did end up registering for Phase 3, so were at Jubilee today. The new baby was born July 4, and the parents were very proud to show off their tiny, 6-pound son. They loved that he was born on such an important holiday for the country. It will be fun to see how our relationship with them grows.

One yesterday and once today we ran into difficulty communicating with someone because of language. In both cases, an unexpected solution came instantly. Yesterday, a woman in Phase 3 came to the door, as she didn’t know any details of the new program. She only speaks Farsi, which is a language no one at Jubilee speaks. Shahin happened to be volunteering, so was right there to translate. Today, a woman who used to be on the Phase 2 waiting list came very late, not knowing the former program was done. She only speaks Chinese. James happened to be volunteering, so was right there to translate. In both cases, what could have been a difficult situation, turned into a very relationship moment.

Maria brought chicken soup today. Angelina was here today and promised to bring lunch next Wednesday. We are spoiled.

The waiting list has 85 families on it. Beginning this week, Trenton and Daniel will begin talking to them on Fridays, one by one. Much like in May, this will allow us to listen to their need, their story and build a stronger relationship. In the coming weeks, families with the greatest need will be added to the program. The current target will be 200 families, as it lines up with the current level of support and operational capacity. As families depart the program, we’ll be able to add others. Many of you have already asked about the waiting list, so we’ll be sure to keep you posted.

There’s a lot of information here. If you have specific questions, feel free to reply back. This transition has been over two months in coming and feels like it has been done in a manner consistent with the spirit of ‘Groceries for Families’. The atmosphere today was very happy, very friendly, high spirited and quite…normal. Normal feels good sometimes. We all will continue to do life together – with each other and with these families. Thank you for staying close. Thank you for caring. Thank you for praying.

Trenton will be taking the lead for Phase 3 of GFF, so you’ll be hearing from him more directly. Next week, he’ll start writing the email summary, so please look forward to that change.

Blessings to you all,

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