GROCERIES FOR FAMILIES

Supporting families affected by the pandemic with food, hygiene items, and other necessities

Jubilee REACH Communications 6/9/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 6/9/20

Groceries for Families: Week 12 - Day 2

It was a wet one today. We’ve had worse days for weather, but today’s rain was pretty persistent. Families were dressed in coats, although a few were holding out for summer weather in short sleeves. Overall it was a great day, with the whole operation running smoothly.

Groceries today came from Cornerstone, Creekside Covenant, Crossroads Bible, Westminster Chapel and, Bellevue Presbyterian churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 169 orders came in and all went out to families today. Thanks for a smooth morning of deliveries and for all the love poured into every order.

Tuesday is a busy day for portioning out the bulk foods for the end of the week: rice, pinto beans, sugar, and salt.

A picture is at the bottom is Marjorie, Andreina, and Rosario working today. These three are employees of the Jubilee REACH Thrift Store but have been working at the Jubilee REACH Center with this grocery program all spring. They do lots of different things here, but Tuesday mornings are all about scooping into ziplock bags.

Today was also Rosario’s birthday, which we celebrated.

Another thing happening today was getting laundry pods portioned out to 20 a bag, in anticipation of passing them to families next week.

A picture of Sam (to the left) working on this. Our goal is to have at least 400 bags packed before Monday, and this is how it gets done.

Food boxes were delivered this morning from Pacific Produce early today. A total of 290 came in on 5 pallets. Very little of this food is intended for Jubilee actually, although we use it as extras to give families. As you’ve read from time to time, we’ve become close to Viviente Dios Methodist Church in White Center, Seattle, and order these boxes for their congregation specifically. Pastor Guzman was here this morning at 10am for an initial van load and returned at 3pm for one more. He is providing for his congregation in a neighborhood without one chain grocery store. Many in their congregation match the demographic of the families in this program, so it a natural extension to help them in any way available. We also pray for them and have been blessed with this relationship all spring.

There wasn’t enough extra food today for a market, which turned out to be a good thing. Because of the rain, we needed the market area for the food box pallets to keep them all dry. We were able to set up simple tables near the front of the line with bags of apples, onions, and potatoes for families to take as the left.

A few email from families:

Hola mi nombre es angelica y si quiero segir conla ayuda del mandado gracias por ayudarnos que dios Los siga vendiciendo con muncho mas para q no's sigan ayudando dios Los vendiga sienpre infinitas gracias atte Angelica

Hello, my name is Angelica and I would like to continue with grocery help. Thank you for helping us. May God continue to bless you with much more so we can continue to receive this help. God bless you always, infinite thanks. Sincerely, Angelica

Buenas tardes a todos los de jubileereach ☺️ Y a todos las bellas personas que nos ayudan con los alimentos mi familia y yo les estamos muy agradecidos por toda su ayuda muchas gracias de todo corazón 🙏 dios los bendiga Yo como tantas personas me reducieron horas en el trabajo por eso acudí con ustedes para ayuda ya que tengo tres pequeñines y eso me preocupava ya que soy inmigrante y no cuento con ayuda del gobierno pero hay tantas personas buenas como ustedes que no les importa el estatus migratorio Gracias Dios los bendiga ☺️

Good afternoon to everyone at Jubilee REACH ☺️ and all the beautiful people who help us with food for my family and I. From the bottom of my heart, we are very thankful for all your help 🙏 God bless you. Myself like so many people had my hours reduced at work which is why I asked for help from you because I have three little ones and I was worried because I am an immigrant so I cannot count on help from the government, but there are so many good people like you who are not worried about our immigration status. Thank you. God bless you ☺️

As you know from yesterday, 70 families were added from the waiting list this week (20 Mon/Thu, 25 Tue/Fri, 25 Wed/Sat). Tomorrow we will bring in an additional 14 families from the waiting list to Wed/Sat, as there are sufficient groceries available, so we didn’t want to wait another week to help them.

Going the other direction, there were 33 families removed from the program this week. Most were simply not showing up regularly enough to hold a spot for them, but there were a few who told us they could now support their own family again. This is very encouraging news.

The end result of all this moving is there are currently 663 families in the program, all coming twice a week (208 Mon/Thu, 227 Tue/Fri, 228 Wed/Sat). Of these, 42 have the groceries delivered by the Jubilee staff.

Thank you for your continued faithful service to support this program. There are such wonderful comments coming from shoppers as they drop off each morning. It is a glorious thing that we are all pulling together to support such dear families in this community. Please continue to pray for them.

God bless you all,

Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family

Jubilee REACH Communications 6/8/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 6/8/20

Groceries for Families: Week 12 - Day 1

Today marks the first day of week 12 of this ‘Groceries for Families’ program. It’s hard to believe, yet has gone so quickly. Today was similar to many other days, in that it was smooth and a full day for families. We were a little short-handed on the crews today, so we had a few gaps to fill. We made it through fine, with people jumping around to help out.

Groceries today came from Common Good, Rain City, CityHill, Bellevue Presbyterian, 24-Seven, Bellevue Christian Reformed, Sacred Heart, and Lighthouse churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 186 orders came in and all went out to families today, including 39 by delivery. Mondays are always fun and busy, with 9 different groups bringing groceries. Thank you to everyone who came today.

You may have noticed in the pictures of the lobby, there are always groceries in the middle of the room, like an island. This is the “conveyor belt”, which keeps moving forward as groceries are taken out the door to families. The crew on the back end keeps the belt moving, as groceries get loaded and cold items added. With the count going up last week and this week with new families, the conveyor belt has widened. If you look closely at a picture, you’ll see it is now two grocery orders wide. We need this simply for holding space, but also to keep more groceries ready to go out. It has been helpful, for sure. But it also makes the remaining floor space ever smaller.

Families were offered personal hygiene items today. They could choose 3 off of a list of 9. On it today was “All-Purpose Cleaning Spray”, which is very popular. One shopper found that it can be ordered online from the dollar store, so it is a tremendous value. We’ll be adding this to the pantry list this week. Thank you to everyone who gave to fill the pantry. So great!

A story from today:

Sofia and her mom delivered a hand-made thank you card and beautiful plant to the Jubilee crew this afternoon to say thank you. We stopped the whole operation to receive the gift. It was such a fun moment. Thank you, Sofia!

Today, tomorrow, and Wednesday, the waiting list was cleared with 70 families being brought into the program for the first time. This is such a great feeling, knowing families are needing food. There were many new faces in line today, which is just awesome to see.

There are now approximately 682 families in the program, which is about 3000 people or so, coming twice a week. Wow! We will also be working this week to begin removing families who can support themselves. It will be an ongoing activity behind the scenes. We’ll see how it goes.

Thanks for such a great day. We didn’t put canopies up today because of the wind, but the weather was just fine all day.

Have a nice evening,

Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family

Jubilee REACH Communications 6/6/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 6/6/20

Groceries for Families: Week 11 - Day 6

Today was another very smooth day, with just perfect weather. As you know, Saturdays are very, very tight for time. Deliveries this morning came sailing in, allowing for ample time for some quick organizing inside the building. Families started lining up about 9:30am and where a steady stream all morning. The morning temperature went from cool to warm and back to cool but was very nice for this operation.

Groceries today came from Victory Court, Evangelical Chinese, and Bellevue Presbyterian Church, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 156 groceries came in and all went out to families today. Enjoy the time-lapse below, showing the incoming groceries and most of the outflow. Thank you, Sam!

The market today was full of some great food for families to take a little extra: potatoes, onions, lettuce, chips, fruit, and more. Lots of extras came in the morning which added to the market. Thank you to everyone who gave!

The hygiene pantry is well stocked and ready for Monday. Thank you to everyone who donated items. Ready!

Personal story from Ken today:

There is a woman, who comes regularly every Wednesday and Saturday. She is Iranian, so stands out a little from the people in line. I don’t know her much, but tend to say hello to her nearly every time she’s here, so I did notice she had been missing. Today, she was in line, so I said hello. Once she received her groceries and took them to her car, she returned to the market line, where I was able to talk to her again. Asking how her family was doing, she didn’t give much of an answer, only a slight shrug. Definitely, not her normal response. I asked again, and she shared that her husband had a seizure early last week, so she must stay close to care for him. She missed last Saturday and Wednesday because of this. This morning, she woke their 15 year old daughter to be with her husband while she quickly came for food. She said he had a brain tumor in 2017, so it is likely the cause of the seizure. She is very worried about him and asked me to pray for him. She’s not Muslim or Christian; I didn’t understand what religion she told me they are. We quickly packed an order of groceries from the Wednesday shopping list for her, along with some hygiene items, to catch them up a bit. I’ll be sure to follow up with her again Wednesday. Please join me in praying for them. Real life continues, despite the COVID-19 crisis.

Today was the final day of the week for bulk ingredient items. Here’s a tally of the number of bags given out over the three days:

Flour- 187 bags or 384 lbs
Rice- 244 bags or 610 lbs
Beans- 230 bags or 276 lbs
Sugar- 298 bags or 284 lbs
Salt- 226 bags or 147 lbs
Laundry Pods- 304 bags or 6,080 loads of laundry

As with each Saturday, here’s a look at statistics to date after 10 weeks:

Program Days: 66
Families currently in the program: 612+
People in these families: 2754 (approximate)
Grocery orders provided: 9044
Churches & Organizations engaged: 28
Different shoppers participating: 1100 (approximate)

As you know, 60 families entered the program from the waiting list this week. Another 70 will enter this coming Mon, Tue & Wed, which will clear the waiting list for the first time in over a month. Wow, thank you!

Today marks the last day of week 11 of this ‘Groceries for Families’ program. Things are running very smoothly, thanks to so many people serving together to make this engine run. Thank you for the continued prayers, support, and dedication.

Thanks for a great week.
Tomorrow is a day of rest.
Be back Monday.

Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family

Jubilee REACH Communications 6/5/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 6/5/20

Groceries for Families: Week 11 - Day 5

Lots of pictures attached today! Hopefully, they all go through. Many different things were happening here today. The operation was very smooth all day long. Both the AM and PM crews were in high gear and having a good time. It’s so funny that the crews can handle 160 groceries now without issue, whereas at the beginning 20 groceries felt so hard. Huh.

Groceries were delivered today by Crossroads Bible, Evangelical Chinese, Covenant Presbyterian, Westminster Chapel, Jubilee Friends, and Bellevue Presbyterian. A total of 160 orders came in and all but 6 went out to families today, including 9 by delivery. Thanks to all who came here today. It’s so awesome seeing so many faces every day. Thank you!

Awakening Church picked up two loads of food boxes from the Union Gospel Mission warehouse
in Kent today, bringing about 40 to Jubilee REACH.

Inside was a mix of dairy, vegetables and ham.
The cold items quickly went in the refrigerator. Tomorrow, it will all go out to families through the market.

Thank you!

There was a late delivery of fresh pies added some fun and tasty sweets to the market today. Lake Sammamish Foursquare Church delivered them from Fred Meyer.

There were so many, some are in the refrigerator now, ready to go out tomorrow.

Thank you!

Louise Rider from Awakening Church joined us today with about 180 activity kits for children.

She wore a yellow vest and spent the afternoon passing them out to families. She’ll return tomorrow to finish up.

Thank you! What fun!

A food truck is in the parking lot now until 7pm, sponsored by a church.

We gave out 120 vouchers to families today for a tasty pizza dinner.

Families lined up at 3:45pm and are still coming now.

Thank you!

A story from today:

Young Ian and his mom brought a hand-made card and some gift bags for the staff today. To be any sweeter would be nearly impossible. Close-ups of the card are below. The outside reads: “Thank you for your help.” The inside reads: “Thank you for your unconditional support in these moments. We have been able to keep going forward with the food we have received. Our family, Canul-Yama, is very grateful.” It will go up on the wall-of-fame. So very, very sweet.

Today was a very nice day all around. Thank you to everyone who was part of this day. We are blessed to have such a wonderful community.

Have a nice Friday evening,

Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family

Jubilee REACH Communications 6/4/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 6/4/20

Groceries for Families: Week 11 - Day 4

Today was another great day in the world of ‘Groceries for Families’. This weather is simply ideal, where the doors can be open all day, and the building stays just the right temperature. Families are warm, without getting hot. Somehow, it just makes the mood all around so nice.

Groceries today came from Sacred Heart School, Kalos, Overlake Park Presbyterian, Redeemer, Sacred Heart Parish, First United Methodist, and Bellevue Presbyterian churches. A total of 183 orders came in and all but 24 went out, including 21 by delivery. The other 24 usually would have gone out by delivery today, but we ran short of time today. They will go out tomorrow.

You can see below a few different pictures showing the lobby from different angles with the PM crew. That’s what it looks like with 183 orders. At the start, the floor space is quite minimal. Once the operation opens, it clears out pretty quickly around the edges.

Today started with a 7:15am delivery of a reach-in refrigerator from the Bellevue School District. The BSD is kindly loaning us the machine for the summer and is a welcome sight.

We’ve been using the Jubilee units as efficiently as possible, but they just aren’t enough to keep everything cold, while also keeping the operation moving.

Having this extra unit changes the entire equation and was instant joy to the crews today.

Thank you BSD!

Families today were able to get bulk ingredients: rice, pinto beans, sugar, salt, flour, butter, and cooking oil. These items are quite popular, and it’s fun to sometimes hear from people how they use them. Some have rice every day. Others love baking. Others cook from scratch. Thank you to everyone who keeps the pantry full.

A few emails from families:

I would like to thank everybody who makes this program possible for everyone who needs help. In times like this, all your effort and sacrifice are greatly appreciated. Thank you especially for all the sponsors and donors. I’ve been supporting my siblings and these groceries make a big difference. The little money I have to be sent to them. They don't have a job too. COVID affects us greatly. So I’ve had to budget everything in order for me to help them too. Again thank you all.
The groceries and TP have been incredibly helpful!!! I don't know that we would have enough food without your help. This last delivery also had two ham sandwich kits. My son (8) is an in-patient at Children's Hospital, and I brought them to him. Plain ham and cheese sandwiches are actually his "favorite food." He asked me to send you this photo of him enjoying the delicious sandwich. I also wonder if you can hold back any tortillas, as well as eggs, milk, and canned food. If you have canned green beans, that's their favorite. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. These deliveries are a Godsend!

Today we welcome a new group to the grocery shopping schedule. The Bellevue School District staff and teachers have a group sign up list for each day called ‘Jubilee Friends’. It went out this morning and already has 3 orders coming tomorrow. With most of the families in the program having children in the BSD, this is a really cool way for the staff/teachers to pour some love into the kids they miss and care so much about. Thank you and welcome!

Thank you for just a wonderful day. There is a lot of joy and positive energy around this place. When Patrick prayed for us to start, he specifically talked about all the people who provide everything that is passed to the families. Your love is received and passes right along. Thank you.

Have a great evening,

Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family

Jubilee REACH Communications 6/3/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 6/3/20

Groceries for Families: Week 11 - Day 3

Today felt like a very normal, average day…which is just fine. Lots of groceries coming in the morning, along with various drop-offs of bulk items. Lovely weather. Families showing up all afternoon. Happy people. Fun conversations. Good times.

Groceries today were provided by Bellevue Presbyterian, Highland Covenant, Bellevue Christian Reformed, and St. Louise churches. A total of 169 orders came in and all went out to families today, including six by delivery. Thank you for all the coordination to have the deliveries come so smoothly. It makes for a great morning of welcoming people as the drop-off. Thank you!

Holy Cross Lutheran Church near Factoria has many gardens on their property which are beginning to produce vegetables. One of their gardeners brought fresh lettuce yesterday and today for the market. Wow, what lovely greens! Picture on the right. She thinks more of their gardeners will be bringing fresh produce here all summer. How awesome is that! Thank you.

Late yesterday, two ladies appeared at the door with two large bags of hand-sewn face masks to donate. They live nearby, had seen the activity, and thought masks would be helpful.

Today, we passed them out to any family member who had a paper mask on. Total fun!

Thank you. See picture on the left

Today was the last day to hand out personal hygiene and laundry detergent. In yesterday’s email, it was noted we were short on a few hygiene items. A few people rallied to fill the gap and had the pantry full again for those items by noon today. We were able to put out a full list for families. Thank you!

A few personal stories from Ken:

Today, I was carrying groceries for someone across the parking lot, when I saw Daniel (one of our crew members) kneeling outside a mini-van and praying with a family. It was very touching. There were two people standing next to Daniel and a man sitting in the van, who was obviously the focus. I asked Daniel about it. They are a family in the ‘before and after school program’ at Jubilee, so were one of the first families in this grocery program. The dad had pneumonia in April, which sent him to the hospital and left him unable to move. Today is the first day of physical therapy, which they were heading to right after the grocery pick up. Daniel knows them well and simply prayed a blessing over this first visit. Nice.
There is a woman who has been coming about a month on Wed & Sat. I’ve noticed her mainly because she always looks scared and nervous behind her mask. At first, I thought it was because she was new to the who grocery pick up, but the look has persisted. Today, I introduced myself and learned her name is Lola. I asked if everything was ok in her life, saying she looks worried. She said life is hard right now. I asked if there was anything else we could do to help her. She didn’t have an answer. There is clearly something going on inside this home and within her. I hope to build trust with her and peel back the layers a little bit at a time. She is hurting.

Thanks for another great day. The love that is poured into every delivery to Jubilee is felt by the crew and passed to the families. Just know that it is carried forward.

We’ve opened up a few volunteer slots in the early AM and late PM to help get things done for this program which falls through the cracks.
If you’d like to volunteer, sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b094daeaf2fa6fc1-volunteer.
Be open-minded and come to serve. You are invited.

Have a great evening,

Ken Carpenter
Service Coordinator, Jubilee REACH
On behalf of the Jubilee family

Groceries for Families began in March 2020 to serve families financially affected by the pandemic. Over 25 organizations and churches have partnered with Jubilee REACH to provide families with groceries, hygiene items, and supplies.

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