GROCERIES FOR FAMILIES

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 6/16/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 6/16/20

Groceries for Families: Week 13 - Day 2

Another nice day on the ranch today! The weather couldn’t make up its mind between rain and sun, but in the end, we stayed dry enough when it mattered. A 12:55pm rain shower did have the crew scrambling to quickly get the canopies up, though. Right now, the evening looks to be lovely.

Groceries today came from Crossroads Bible, Cornerstone, Creekside Covenant, 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. It was a very smooth morning with deliveries. Thank you to everyone who helped today!

Food boxes were delivered this morning by Pacific Coast. We’re able to get these through the government, but they aren’t intended for the families here.

As you've read here before, Viviente Dios Methodist Church in White Center has become our close partner all spring long. The Pastor comes here twice each Tuesday to bring them to his church for distribution. Today, Pastor Guzman told me the food distribution has become an amazing community event, which is spreading.

When he has food, word spreads quickly, and people come. He knows many people come to the church for food, who would otherwise never come to a church. He is very encouraged that all of this will bring people in their community closer together, which will serve benefits for years to come. He is a great man.

Because of the rain, the food boxes were under the canopy where the market normally goes. So, there wasn’t a market today. We put out all the fresh produce near the front of the line, so families could take some extra. Tomorrow, the market will be back and should be quite full.

Personal note from Ken:

Today, our son graduated from Newport High School. I stepped away from Jubilee REACH for a few hours to watch the online graduation at home. We then went to the high school as a family for a drive through diploma hand-off and picture. We borrowed a friends 1969 Camaro to make it even more fun. See below of the picture of Evan (on the left) with his long-time friend, Matthew, standing in front of the Camaro and Firebird. Evan will attend Seattle Pacific Univerity next fall and run for their Track team. (This is just a shameless plug from a proud papa.)

This ‘Groceries for Families’ program continues to make such a difference in this community. If you haven’t yet come for a tour, please reach out. We’d love you all to see it up close. Together, we are meeting a real need right in the middle of this crisis. Thank you for the continued support these many weeks. Keep going! It is working!

Blessings to you all,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 6/15/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 6/15/20

Groceries for Families: Week 13 - Day 1

Here we go into week 13! The spring weather continues to hold a grip on things. The rain was off and on all morning during deliveries. As all the canopies went up around noon, the rain gave way to clouds and even a little sun. The rain came back just as we closed up the shop at 3:00pm. The crew would take this combo any day, for sure. It was a very smooth day and a nice start to the week.

Groceries today came from Common Good, Lighthouse, Sacred Heart School, Bellevue Christian Reformed, 24-Seven, Bellevue Presbyterian, and Rain City churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 176 orders came in and all went out to families today, including 39 by delivery. Thanks to all you donated for today. Lots of extra food and hygiene came in, too, which is just awesome. Thank you!

Currently, we deliver groceries to 42 homes. Families are on the delivery list for various reasons: no transportation; someone has the virus; someone in the home is so vulnerable, or everyone is in quarantine. It’s a great part of this program.

Most of these deliveries are done on Mondays and Thursdays, with a few others scattered on the other days for various reasons. 6-7 different people make deliveries, but most are done by Daniel, Andrew, and Hannah – all are site coaches at schools normally.

To the right is a picture of Daniel getting ready to leave this afternoon with 13 groceries.

Fresh lettuce and kale were delivered today from Holy Cross Lutheran’s community garden. It went right into the market and was a wonderful addition. People loved it. Thank you!

We do have an Amazon Wish List, for anyone who would like to contribute pantry items by having them shipped to Jubilee REACH.

Here’s the link:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3LIO7S4J7DTAB?ref_=wl_share.

Deliveries are arriving nearly every day, so thank you to everyone who is giving from afar.

Personal hygiene items were available to families today. Thanks to everyone who helped stock the pantry since last Wednesday. The only items we’re running short on are shampoo and toothpaste, both of which are great dollar-store values. Families were also given laundry detergent today. This is the fourth time we’ve been able to provide this important and very popular item. Since April, it’s been available every other week. Thank you to everyone who donates!

Emails from a few families:

Thank you for all the food deliveries you have been doing to our apt. As a single parent of 2, with this pandemic, times have been tricky. We appreciate you and have enjoyed seeing your bright smile at our door. Just wanted to reach out to let you know how much we appreciate you. I’m stuck at work for a 13-hour shift tonight, I work for a non-profit at one of their huge family shelters in Seattle. I’m totally working as an essential person right now. I am a huge optimist so I always tell my son how much he can do in this world. Thank you!
Daniel quiero agradecer a todas las entidades que hacen esto posible por hacer todas estas donaciones lla que sin ellos y todo el personal que labora haciendo todo este trabajo comunitario no seria posible alimentar a todas las personas que tenemos nesesidad en estos momentos tan dificiles muchas gracias por toda su ayuda y que jehovah les siga bendiciendo un cordial soludo de mi parte y toda mi familia gracias.

Daniel, I want to thank all the parties who make this possible, for all the donations that without them and all the personnel doing this community work, it wouldn't be possible to help feed all the people who are in need in these difficult times. Many thanks for your help and Jehovah continue to bless you all. A cordial hello on my behalf and my family. Thank you.

Thanks to everyone who has responded to the call for toothbrushes. We’re hoping to have about 3000 in hand by next Monday, so we can give one to every family member. Looking at the shelf, it sure looks like we are near that goal already. This will be really cool to provide the families. Thank you!

Today was another smooth and very encouraging day.
Thanks for helping Monday start the week so well.

Have a wonderful evening,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 6/13/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 6/13/20

Groceries for Families: Week 12 - Day 6

Today was a very nice ending to a great week. The weather was rainy early this morning but it gave way to dry & warm enough. The pace was steady all morning, as families seemed to wait out the rain. We put the canopies up but didn’t need them after 10am opening time.

Groceries today came from Evangelical Chinese, Bellevue Presbyterian, and Victory Court churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 159 orders came in and all went out to families today. The pace of deliveries this morning was great, and we had all orders in the building well before opening time. Thank you to everyone who donated today and to everyone who helped get everything here. Enjoy the time-lapse. Thanks, Sam!

The market today was full of some great food for families to take a little extra: apples, potatoes, canned beans, noodles, soup, tortillas, 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!

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 this week:

Flour: 182 bags or 374 lbs
Rice: 257 bags or 643 lbs
Beans: 239 bags or 287 lbs
Sugar: 324 bags or 308 lbs
Salt: 263 bags or 171 lbs

Here are the numbers to date over the 12 weeks:

Flour: 1771 bags or 4055 lbs
Rice: 2373 bags or 5933 lbs
Beans: 2134 bags or 2561 lbs
Sugar: 2711 bags or 2576 lbs
Salt: 2012 bags or 1308 lbs
Laundry: 1096 pods or 21,920 loads

As with each Saturday, here’s a look at statistics to date after 12 weeks:

Program Days: 72
Families currently in the program: 663+
People in these families: 2983 (approximate)
Grocery orders provided to-date: 10,370
Churches & Organizations engaged: 28
Different shoppers participating: 1100 (approximate)

As you know, we added 86 families to the program this week. We are no longer running a waiting list. Instead, families are being added to the program immediately. We are seeing a small number of families taking themselves off the program, which is encouraging. We’re also removing families which don’t come regularly enough. We’ll be monitoring this closely in the coming week, before communicating to the families again the following week about removing themselves when they can self-sustain. Right now, the balance between groceries and families is working well. Thank you!

Today marks the last day of week 12 of this ‘Groceries for Families’ program. It continues to work very well from all sides. Thank you all for the continued participation, prayers, support, and love for the people of our community. It’s just so great to be in this with you all.

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 6/12/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 6/12/20

Groceries for Families: Week 12 - Day 5

Today was the opposite of yesterday. It was a dry morning, with the rain starting pretty much at 1:00pm as we opened the shop. It rained hard all afternoon until 3:30pm. The early rush was tiny, only about 20 minutes. Then it went totally quiet, which is very unusual. Finally, families started coming, and it kept up steadily until just after 3pm. Great day, with the near-record turnout!

Groceries today were brought by Crossroads Bible, Evangelical Chinese, Covenant Presbyterian, Westminster Chapel, and Bellevue Presbyterian churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 172 orders came in and all went out to families today, including 3 by delivery. It was a very smooth morning of deliveries. Thank you for all who came here and who donated!

Blue Plate Seattle was connected to us this week. This is a catering company in the U-District which normally supplies lunches to private schools.

With their business closed, they have been looking for a partner to get food to the public. Boom! Jubilee REACH.

The owner, Bruce Bowen, today came with 200 ready-to-eat meals of spaghetti, hamburgers, chicken strips and bagels.

They went into the market and were very popular. He’ll be returning weekly. Thank you!

The Lake Sammamish Foursquare food bank showed up on an off-day with good looking cantaloupe and watermelons.

They went into the market and were very popular. The market was looking good today. Thank you!

You may recall there are lunches each Tuesday taken to 26 isolated seniors in the community by Barb, the Jubilee REACH Hospitality manager, and her crew. About three weeks ago we partnered with the Bellevue Fire Department to also deliver lunches on Fridays to these same people. Lunches are brought each Friday at 10:30am by the BFD. Volunteers deliver them before noon. Pictures are attached to the delivery and crew today. Lunch today was Mexican from El Rinconsito on 140th. Tasty!

The pantry items most in need are: Diapers size 6, Baby Wipes, Feminine hygiene – ultra-thin mini pads only. We’re also trying to collect 2500 toothbrushes to give one to every family member.

The food truck returns tomorrow evening from 4-7pm with Cascadia Pizza. Please plan to come, if you need dinner.

Thanks for a great day. It feels so good to see so much food pass through this building, with all of it ending up with families who need it. Thank you!

Blessings to you all,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 6/11/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 6/11/20

Groceries for Families: Week 12 - Day 4

This first paragraph often seems to deal with the weather – sorry about that. It just seems the weather often plays into this outdoor program, so it dictates a number of things going on. Today was no exception. If you live in this area, you experienced the same. It started out raining and got even harder as the morning progressed. As we opened at 1:00pm, the rain persisted but gradually let up. By the time we finished, it was full sun. Right now, it is a lovely late afternoon. Go figure. Anyway,…it was a great day.

Today’s groceries came from Sacred Heart Parish, Sacred Heart School, Kalos, Overlake Park Presbyterian, Redeemer, Bellevue Presbyterian, First United Methodist, and Doxa churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 179 orders came in and all but five went out to families today, including 40 by delivery. The remaining 5 will go out as deliveries tomorrow. Delivery all morning was very smooth, despite the pouring rain for most of it. Thursdays are always a bit of fun with 9 different groups delivering. The AM crew does a great job of keeping all the incoming orders straight. Thank you, everyone!

The rain made for a strange day of families arriving. With the rain, the initial line was only 30-35 deep and was through in about 20 minutes. That felt weird. The rest of the afternoon was a slow but steady trickle. Then the end picked up for a late rush. In the end, we had a normal amount of families coming, but it sure felt strange. Blame it on the rain, perhaps.

Elsie Bencke returned for a third visit, bringing lots of goodie bags intended for young children.

We put her in a yellow vest and let her do what she does best, interacting with families. She has a gift! Plus, she used some Spanish.

Daniel and Marjorie, working alongside her outside, were very impressed. She adds a lot to the afternoon and made today very special for a lot of children.

Thank you, Elsie! Come back anytime.

A picture sometimes attached shows the “view from above”. Often, this shows mainly the tops of many canopies, rain, or shine. In total, there are 3 carports and 10 canopies in the inventory. The carports and 2 canopies stay up all the time. The other 7 canopies get set up and taken down daily. Two canopies always cover two picnic tables, which are used for people to sit and for them to set their groceries while they are in the market. The remaining 8 canopies cover the line of cones as much as possible, for maximum shade and rain coverage. Another picture today shows how we put four cones under each canopy in extreme weather, like the hard rain today. The people are still a good distance apart, but it allows more people to have a cover. The families just work out for themselves how the two lines move and eventually merge into one. It works.

The market today had lots of fruits and vegetables, which is always great: potatoes, apples, onion, cantaloupe, zucchini, carrots, yellow pepper, bananas. Much of it came from the Lake Sammamish Foursquare Church food bank, which delivers to us Tuesday and Thursday. Today they brought a great selection. Thank you!

A personal story from Ken:

A few weeks ago you may remember me sharing about a Jewish family who only eats vegetables (green preferred!), and specifically the bad attitude I had to overcome in myself. Here’s a follow up for you. Every day since then, as extra fruits and vegetables come in, I set aside a bit in a bin in the refrigerator. Then, every Monday and Thursday, I look forward to seeing either David (the husband) or Ema (the mother), who comes with Dena (their 11-year-old daughter). David is often in a hurry on Monday and comes to the front of the line early, which is fine. On Thursdays, Dena comes bouncing to find me, while her mom gets in line. I soon pull Ema out of line early. They get two bags filled with as many different vegetables and fruits as we can find. I’ve definitely learned that what David thinks their family eats and what Ema thinks their family eats are two different things. Ema is far pickier. When I offer something to David, such as potatoes, and he accepts it, I tell him that Ema turns it down normally. So, then he doesn’t take it. Pretty funny, really. For sure, I’ve bonded with the girls. Dena is full of life and is the opposite of her parents in how she shows her energy & spirit. I’ll keep working on David. He is comfortable with me but doesn’t give much more than a grunt or hand wave. They are a sweet family, and I pray for them.

Thanks for another lovely day. There are so many good things happening here and around this program. If you haven’t yet come for a tour, please reach out to come. You are always welcome.

Have a great evening,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 6/10/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 6/10/20

Groceries for Families: Week 12 - Day 3

What started as rain this morning, quickly shifted to dry and then a beautiful sunny afternoon. Love that! It’s so nice to be warm and dry. It simply makes everything easier. The operation went very smoothly all day, with a nice pace of families coming in the afternoon.

Today’s groceries came from Bellevue Presbyterian, Highland Covenant, Bellevue Christian Reformed, and St. Louise churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 154 grocery orders came in and all went out to families today, including 2 by delivery. Thank you to all who donated today!

Personal hygiene items were offered today for the last time this week. We were able to add ‘liquid hand soap’ to the list, which is very popular. Thank you to everyone who helped fill the pantry this week. If you don’t already know, there is a weekly email that goes out on Wednesday afternoons listing the needed pantry items. If you’d like to be on that distribution list, please email Ashley at ashleyp@jubileereach.org.

Wednesday is a day where lots of fresh chicken comes into the Jubilee REACH Center.

Barb and Kate (see to the right for picture) are here from 10am-2pm to divide it all into ziplock bags and get it into the freezer.

Today they froze 560 pounds, getting it ready for Thu-Sat. Thank you!

Tomorrow bulk ingredient foods will be available to families: rice, pinto beans, sugar, salt, flour.

Thank you to everyone who donated these items all week.

You often hear the references to AM crew and PM crew. These are primarily Jubilee employees (School Site Coaches, Thrift Store, and Administration) who are staffing the operation of this grocery program. Here’s a little more insight…

AM Crew: This crew typically consists of 4-5 people scheduled from 9:30am-12:30pm. Their main role is to receive the incoming groceries from delivering shoppers and bring them into the lobby of the Jubilee building. The groceries are sorted, typically by church or group, and all the cold items are removed to nearby refrigerators. The orders are quickly inventoried for missing or extra items. Secondarily, this crew also received all incoming pantry items and hauls them to the larger space beyond the lobby. They also are responsible for setting up the daily market. Of course, there are regularly other things which pop up for them to manage.
PM Crew: This crew typically consists of 6-8 people scheduled from 12:30-3:30pm. Upon arrival, they start filling the first-out grocery orders with cold items and TP. Those who are working outside with families get the I-pad and check-in slips ready. We do an orientation and prayer about 12:50pm and open the operation right at 1:00pm’ish. Two people are out with the families checking in. One person oversees the market. Two people are passing out groceries to families. Two people are inside filling groceries with cold items. One or two people are carrying groceries for people to their cars. Everyone has a role, yet there is plenty of job sharing and pitching in all the time. Once 3pm passes and the flow of families stops, everyone’s last job is to reset the lobby for the next day – refilling diapers, pantry items, TP, etc.
Saturday: As you know, Saturday is different. There is only one crew of 8-10 people. They do the AM crew responsibilities from 8:30-10:00am and then the PM crew responsibilities from 10:00am-12:30pm.

There were 39 new families coming today for the very first time, and it is very easy to spot them in line. At the front of the line, they are very unsure of the process for receiving groceries and have no idea there is a separate market area. We try to shower them with a warm welcome and a feeling that they belong to this community. It’s so great to be giving them food, provided to them with lots and lots of love from all of you.

Thanks for another great day. Enjoy the warm evening, wherever you are.

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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