Here we are at the end of the first week of the 8th month of the ‘Groceries for Families’ program. Wow! What began as an 8 week program, grew to 12 weeks, stretched through the summer and then committed into the fall and winter. Someone asked this morning when the program will end. We are no longer guessing or trying to see the end. When the pandemic slows and people get back to work and families can stabilize…then. But, for now, this program is essential. Thank you for being a part of in so many ways. Keep going.

Thursday was a very smooth day in the operation, with the morning rain tapering off nicely. Lots and lots of shoppers came in, including many early in the morning. Families came all afternoon, with the line staying quite full for most of the two hours. It was such a nice way to end the week.

Groceries today were provided by Rotary Bellevue Sunrise and the Jubilee Friends group, as well as Lighthouse, Doxa, First United Methodist, Overlake Park Presbyterian, Sacred Heart Parish & School, Highland Covenant, Crossroads Bible and Bellevue Presbyterian churches. A total of 184 orders came in and all went out to families today. Thank you to all who donated.

The AM volunteer crew came from Bellevue Christian Reformed Church. The team of 8 managed the incoming deliveries of groceries and pantry items. They also packed all the food boxes. It was a great morning together. Thank you!

The Sysco truck arrived right at 9:30am, which was great. We’ve had the same driver for the past three weeks, Ed. He has been very flexible and gracious. He knows the system well now and helps a lot with his careful work to bring in the boxes just as we need them. Thank you!

The market was full today with a nice assortment of fresh and non-perishable foods. Volunteers brought donations from the QFC Crossroads. Thank you to all who donated extras.

The QFC shopping cart remains very popular. We had to add a rule which requires families to take their bags and boxes of food directly to their car. They cannot use the carts to shop in the market. It became too much like a normal grocery store and totally clogged up the sidewalk with the big carts. It’s a good and necessary rule. People will get used to it. For sure, everyone appreciates the carts.

An email from an AM volunteer crew yesterday:

“Thanks for your follow-up. I was overwhelmed by the scope, and “reach” of Jubilee REACH. Thousands and thousands of families/individuals were positively touched on just one day. I had no idea. I was impressed by a number of factors- the collaboration of church bodies on the Eastside, the number of families from each of those churches, the ability, of someone, to materially include non-church groups and obtain enormous assistance from Sysco/USDA. The leadership is virtually omnipresent, as well as omniscient. Also, to realize that there is that magnitude of need in Bellevue and environs. Wow, wow.“

A staff member update:

A picture of Kandan (to the right), a Jubilee REACH staff member and site coach at Chinook Middle School. Kandan will be leaving Jubilee next week, taking a new job which will allow him to move back to his home state of Oregon. He is getting married in the spring, and they want to live in Bend. Kandan has been a constant figure in the grocery program from the beginning and a leader in every way. He makes this program better. He also has built the complex spreadsheets which are used to manage and track all the families. While we will miss him here, the community of Chinook will miss him greatly. Please join us in wishing him well and praying for his future.

We find the pantry suddenly empty for cooking oil. If you are able to help fill the shelves before Tuesday, thank you. We go through about 10 Costco size large bottles each day.

With the USDA shipments not flowing next week and likely the week beyond, we have made some changes to how perishable foods will be acquired. Tomorrow, we will take two trucks to the UGM warehouse in Kent, picking up food boxes and milk for 600 families. We’ll store it at two local churches with large walk-in coolers. This will cover next week. Beyond that, we will wait to see what becomes available. Thank you for your concern and prayers. We’ll keep you posted.

We received a grant from King County this week, which allows us to purchase fresh produce from King County Farms. The goal of the program is to get fresh produce into the hands of isolated senior citizens in our community. There will be a delivery to Jubilee on Monday morning with an initial small load of produce. We will be inviting seniors to come to Jubilee from 12pm-2pm Monday to pick some up. It will be very informal and safely outside. We’ll see how it goes. For the lunches delivered to seniors on Tuesday, we will be delivering produce.

Thank you for another great day and a great week. There are so many good things happening through this program. Thank you for being an integral part of it. This is where we all should be.

Have a great evening and weekend,

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