GROCERIES FOR FAMILIES

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 7/21/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 7/21/20

Groceries for Families: Week 18 - Day 2

Today was the perfect kind of busy (and it was very busy), with a steady stream of things happening all day. There were no huge rushes and no dead time. It all just kept coming. For sure, the crew loves this. Many, many families came today. In fact, nearly every name on the list came today. Plus, Tuesday’s have lots of large families, which get two orders of groceries. The heat from yesterday let up today just enough to be comfortable. Great day!

Groceries today came from Crossroads Bible, Cornerstone, Westminster Chapel, Creekside Covenant, and Bellevue Presbyterian churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 166 orders came in, including those carried over from yesterday, and all went out to families today, including 3 by delivery. We used the last grocery order right at 3pm and then used a few more of the food boxes (described below) for a few late families. Thank you to everyone who participated today.

Pacific Coast Produce was right on time at 7:00am to deliver 5 pallets of food boxes this morning. Pastor Gerardo and his wife from El Dios Viviente United Methodist Church in White Center, Seattle arrived with their van to take the three pallets of cold items.

As you’ve read before, we have a great partnership with this church and community. Pastor Gerardo uses these food boxes to not only provide needed nourishment to many families, but he is also ministering to the surrounding community through it all. It is a wonderful outcome of this crisis, and they are shepherding their community with love. We are blessed to be working with them. They will return tomorrow afternoon to pick up more food boxes. Please pray for their church, their congregation, their community, and all that is happening there through this food distribution.

There wasn’t a market today because the food boxes are stored under the big carport canopy. However, there were plenty of fresh foods to make a line of tables for people to take from as they exited.

See to the left for a picture taken facing the building entrance. Families enter from the right of the tables and exit to the left.

On the tables were blueberries, bread, tomatoes, Brussel sprouts, grapes, mushrooms, ravioli, cauliflower (All donated from Trader Joes – Thank you Fred!), as well as potatoes, onions, and apples.

In the early morning, we open all the doors and get the fans blowing the cool air in. It is just great and makes such a difference while the crew is here. On really hot days, the building warms up in the afternoon, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Thanks, Dean and Charlene for the extra fans this week!

Food truck tomorrow night, 4-7pm! Delfino’s Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

An email from a family:

Hi, this message is to inform you that I will no longer need to pick up groceries from you guys. I also wanted to thank you for all the help that you have provided for us during all this difficult time my family and I give thanks 🙏🏻 and God bless you guys thanks again for everything.

A note from Ken:

As you know, there are many families exiting the program this week. We are getting many, many verbal notes of thanks, which need to be passed to all of you. Please know there is abundant gratitude from all of these families. Thank you!

With some deliveries, we acquire wooden pallets, which are bulky and heavy. We’ve made a pile of them near the front sidewalk, and they steadily disappear, as people take them.

A picture of Jakeh on the right (crew member and site coach at Big Picture). He is one of our resident strong-men, charged with carrying them to the street. Just being a little silly here. 😊

Thanks for another great day. Have a lovely evening, wherever you are.

Blessings to you all,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 7/20/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 7/20/20

Groceries for Families: Week 18 - Day 1

Day 1 of week 18 is in the books and was a very normal day in all the good ways. Lots of activity in the morning with grocery and pantry drop-offs. Families coming in the afternoon, although not as long of an initial line, likely due to the heat. The hot temperature was the one new thing, as it’s not been so hot like this since a small window in mid-May. By the afternoon, even under the canopies was very warm. But overall it was a great day.

The groceries today were brought by Bellevue Christian Reformed, 24-Seven, Bellevue Presbyterian, Lighthouse, Sacred Heart, Rain City, and Common Good churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 144 orders came in and all but 16 went out today, including 22 by delivery. Another 10 deliveries are being delayed until tomorrow due to staffing. Thank you to everyone who donated today.

The market was full today with some great things: berries, produce, bakery goods, feminine hygiene, baby formula, and more. Nice delivery from a volunteer came from the QFC Crossroads. Thank you, everyone, who donated extra.

Today began the availability of personal hygiene items. Every family can choose three from a list of about eight. Thank you to everyone who helped fill the pantry nicely.

Last Friday, a delivery of freshly picked apples came from the orchard at Holy Cross Lutheran Church near Factoria. T

he type of apple is called “White Transparent” or “ Papirovka”, which is originally from Russia.

On Saturday, a woman was staring a bin of the apples and just seemed mesmerized. When we asked, she said this apple is very popular in her home country of Ukraine, and she’s not found it available in stores here. She was overjoyed to find it at Jubilee and said it reminded her of her childhood.

We happily gave her half a bin full, which had her bouncing to her car. Such fun! Thank you HCLC and volunteers there!

An email from a family:

Dear friends, On behalf of our family I want to express our deepest gratitude for the incredible help that we have received from you during these difficult times, your kindness and generosity have brought a true relief to our family and to many others. We, my husband and I, are over 70 years old, and is really difficult for us to get a job during this pandemic situation. We will never forget your generosity. God bless you. Sincerely, Gloria

A story from Ken:

Today, I took a picture of me with Hilda and Mariana. They are two friends who have been in this program from the very beginning. It is a bittersweet time for us all because this week will be their last. We’ve become attached to many people here, but these two ladies are very special. Alleigha, who runs the check-in I-pad most days so knows them well, gave me her thoughts today, which are woven through this paragraph. Both have delightful personalities and fill the space around them with joy. Mariana laughs a lot and is nothing but fun to talk with. They come so regularly, it is a refreshing part of our day to see them. They give us energy. In fact, it is quite noticeable if either of them is not here, which is rare. For us, they represent exactly the type of family this program was constructed for. We’ve become connected to their stories and watched it unfold. Mariana’s husband was injured back in early May, and we worried alongside her. Hilda picked up a few days of housekeeping in June, and we celebrated with her. Now, their families are able to sustain themselves enough to exit this program. Even for them, it is clearly a difficult separation. Today, they approached me for a picture and said it was for the memory of the past four months with us. We’ve all become friends, and we will miss them. Happy and sad, all at the same time.

We begin this week with still about 565 families in the ‘Groceries for Families’ program, all coming twice per week. There will be a large batch of families coming off the program after this week. You’ll hear more about those details near the end of the week and early next week. Please pray for these families specifically. This week will be emotional and scary for some. Like the story above, it is emotional for the crew, too. We pray they can sustain their families again and know this community cares about them.

It’s warm out there. May you be with or in touch with people you love, wherever you are.

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 7/18/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 7/18/20

Groceries for Families: Week 17 - Day 6

The week ended on a very nice note. The weather was just great today, with early-morning cool and mid-morning warmth. The operation was very smooth and calm today. Lots of groceries coming in from 8-9:30am. Families were steadily coming all morning, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Such a nice way to end week 17. Enjoy the time-lapse. Thanks, Sam!

Groceries today were provided by Bellevue Presbyterian, Victory Court, and Evangelical Chinese churches. A total of 153 orders came in and all but 16 went out to families today. It’s unusual to have that many remaining, but we will hold them until Thursday without a problem. All the perishables are now in the refrigerator. Thank you to everyone who participated today. So great here!

There wasn’t a market today, as all of the market extras were used for the ‘hospitality bags’ detailed in yesterday’s email. The crew put together 35 nice boxes with a variety of non-perishables, fresh items, some fun things like chocolate, and some hygiene essentials. See the attached picture. Yesterday, we invited all 35 families on the waiting list to come at noon today. Only eight came, which is mostly due to the short notice. We will communicate with them again, inviting them to come Wednesday at 3pm. It feels so right to provide these families with any food available here. More to come!

This was the last day of the week for the bulk ingredient items: rice, pinto beans, flour, sugar, and salt. Thank you to everyone who helped fill the pantry with these items. The crew flips the lobby at the end of Saturday, so it is now ready for Monday with all the personal hygiene items. It looks great!

A few updates from Ken:

A mom was here today and gave a quick update on her son. He remains stable and the testing is continuing. They are watching him very closely, which causes an underlying level of stress in the family. Her husband and other three kids are well. Her husband works for an irrigation company installing sprinkler systems, as well as does yard work. He is working three days a week right now, while the company slowly opens again. She continues to express her gratitude for all the prayers being said for their family, as well as the financial support with their PSE bill and gas cards. Thank you!
A wife who’s husband dealing with brain tumor was also here today and gave a quick update.. He has two more sessions of radiation this week, which will end the planned cycle. They will then do a MRI to see if the tumor has changed. The doctor is very hopeful. They see the doctor on Monday, so a week from tomorrow should provide a good update. Their daughter turns 16 a week from today, so it is a big week for them. The mom will get her a simple necklace to celebrate, which her daughter chose. She is very grateful for all the prayers being said for their family, as well as the gas cards and help with paying the traffic tickets. Thank you!

As with each Saturday, here’s a look at statistics to date after 17 weeks:

Program Days: 102
Families currently in the program: 565+
People in these families: 2542 (approximate)
Grocery orders provided to-date: 16,506
Churches & Organizations engaged: 28
Different shoppers participating: 1000 (approximate)

We end this week with about 565 families in the program, each coming twice per week. No new families were on-boarded this week, although about 15 were added to the waiting list. Just a few families exited the program this week, but there are quite a few families for whom next week will be their last week. We’ll have more details of those numbers later next week.

This program is targeted to end on August 29, as it currently exists. Some of you are asking the appropriate question of what will happen if the economy closes again & families go backward. For sure, we’re watching things closely alongside you and will be communicating more in August, as things unfold. Thank you for your further concern about these families.

Today marks the last day of week 17 of this ‘Groceries for Families’ program. It continues to cruise right along with so many good things happening. 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 7/17/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 7/17/20

Groceries for Families: Week 17 - Day 5

If yesterday was slow, today made up for it and more. Wow, it was busy all day. We’re fortunate the weather stayed cool until about 3pm, when the sun finally warmed things up. The morning was a constant flow of deliveries – groceries, pantry, and extras. The afternoon had families streaming in for the full two hours. For sure, some people who missed yesterday, came today. We even had some people who normally come tomorrow, come today. Plus Friday has many large families, who get two orders of groceries. The crew was on point, making for a very smooth operation. Thanks everyone!

Groceries today came from Crossroads Bible, Bellevue Presbyterian, Covenant Presbyterian, Evangelical Chinese and Westminster Chapel churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 171 orders came in and all went out to families today, including 10 by delivery. We were fortunate to carry over some orders from yesterday, as they were all needed. Thank you to everyone who donated today.

Two large deliveries from grocery stores came in today, delivery by volunteers. A load from the Metropolitan Market in Kirkland came in with lots of fresh milk, sour cream, and more. A load from the Crossroads QFC came in with yogurt, fruit, bakery, and more. We held back all the non-perishable items from the market and filled it just with fresh, perishables. We were very fortunate for the cool temperature.) All of it went out today.
Thank you!!!

BelPres showed up very early this morning with frozen chicken. They receive to the church on Wednesday from Costco and volunteers portion it all out into ziplock bags. After 2 days in the freezer, it comes to Jubilee. Thank you!

The food truck is here!
Come get some Venezuelan food until 7pm tonight.

A number of you have asked about the waiting list of families, which now total about 35. These are people who have come asking for food in the past two weeks. As the program is trending downward toward an eventual ending on August 29, there isn’t an obvious on-ramp to get them into the program. We’ve thus made the decision to schedule these families to come to Jubilee promptly at 3:00pm each Wednesday and 12:00pm each Saturday. These are the end of the daily shifts and the end of the half-weekly shopping list, so the whole operation turns over these days. We’re going to put out less food in the market each day, so as to have food available for these families. We’ll be creating ‘hospitality bags’ for each of them, which will be any food we have here. So, they won’t be the typical shopping list of groceries. This way, we can consistently get food to them twice per week. There is enough food coming in, that it feels very responsive to make this pivot toward helping these families. It will begin tomorrow. Please pray for them and this operation. We’re trusting that food will be available. Thank you for your kind questions about them.

Day 101 is in the books. Thank you for all the continued participation, support, and love you pour into this program.

Saturday’s operation comes early tomorrow. Can’t wait!

Have a great evening,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 7/16/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 7/16/20

Groceries for Families: Week 17 - Day 4

Day 100! Can you believe it? This all started back in mid-March with 20 families on the first day. It felt so difficult. There was one no-show that day, and we didn’t know what to do with the extra set of groceries. The motto then was ‘Run before you can walk”. This meant everyone involved was willing to just start, so food could reach families immediately. We’d all worry about the details later and learn then what we didn’t know. The initial plan was 8 weeks, which became 12 weeks, which became through the summer. Wow! It would have been impossible to imagine and plan for what has happened since. Thank you, everyone!

Back to today,…it felt so slow to all of us today. The numbers were down, and the pace was very slow. Totally strange and so different from the first three days of the week. We’re not sure what happened. The weather was wonderful. Sun this morning kept us warm. The clouds came in around noon to keep the heat away while families were here.

Groceries today came from Sacred Heart, Bellevue Presbyterian, Doxa, Overlake Park Presbyterian, First United Methodist, Redeemer, and Kalos churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 154 orders came in and all but 10 went out to families today, including 22 by delivery. More deliveries will go out tomorrow. Thank you to all who donated today

We thought the market was going to be pretty normal today and set it up with the non-perishables in stock. In the late morning, two wonderful deliveries of fresh items came in which flipped the whole market. Thursday is a normal delivery day from Fred who brings food from the food bank at Lake Samm Foursquare Church.

Today was also the first delivery from Gill and his wife, who are picking up late-dated food from the Bothell QFC and delivering it to Jubilee. Combined there was a wonderful selection of dairy products, fruit, vegetables, salads, loaves of bread, baked goods (including some great cakes). Very quickly, the crew brought in all the non-perishables and displayed all the fresh items, including a lot on the ice. The families today had a great day of extras. Thank you!

Today started the availability this week for bulk ingredients: flour, rice, sugar, salt, and pinto beans. Families can choose three of the five, as well as get butter and cooking oil (in their own container). Rice and sugar are the most popular, but all are enjoyed by families. Thank you to everyone who gave this past week to stock the pantry.

A personal story from Ken:

As you may know, we started running a waiting list for families to enter this program about two weeks ago. When new families come to Jubilee to inquire about the program, they are added to the waiting list and given a ‘hospitality bag’ of food to take home. The waiting list is now around 35 families. Yesterday, around 3:15pm, after we closed the operation, two young women came to the door. Our two staff who work outside checking families in, Alleigha and Rosario, were still here, so they went out to greet them. I watched through the open door and was delighted with what I saw. These Hispanic women were very cautious and nervous, not knowing anything or anyone here. I listened as Alleigha and Rosario skillfully built a quick relationship with them before anything else. They asked how they were doing, how their family was doing and a little about their lives. It was just four women talking together. I watched as the two women warmed up and clearly relaxed. They smiled and talked more & more. It was a beautiful example of hospitality, friendship, and love. Building the two hospitality bags, I tried to add extras and get as much into the bags as possible. As the bags were handed over, the four women were laughing and enjoying each other’s company. I hope the two women went away with even a small slice of joy and happiness, which they likely didn’t expect to find here. So cool. Really cool.

Thank you for another great day. This week is rolling along. It’s hard to believe tomorrow is Friday already. The rain looks to be coming in tonight, which would be a welcome relief, honestly. The heat is coming next week!

Have a great evening,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 7/15/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 7/15/20

Groceries for Families: Week 17 - Day 3

Day 99 was much, much better than yesterday. While yesterday felt busy and difficult, today felt smooth and calm. So nice. The weather was very nice and got plenty of toasty carrying groceries out to cars. It gets very warm under the canopies in the direct sun. The morning was a nice steady pace of incoming deliveries of groceries and two large loads of pantry items. Families lined up early in the sun and then continue to come all afternoon. It was a great day all around.

Today’s groceries came from Bellevue Presbyterian, Highland Covenant, St. Louise and Bellevue Christian Reformed churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 156 orders came in and all went out to families today. Thank you for all the time, energy, treasure and love poured into the groceries.

Garden fresh produce, straight from the garden, came from two places this morning: Holy Cross Lutheran Church and the Master Gardener site on 16th SE. Wow, what glorious vegetables!

It all still smelled like the earth. Thank you for all the effort put into making this possible and for sharing it with these families. Typically, we try to give such vegetables to the families which are vegetarian.

As we were thinking about how to best distribute them today, the Jewish family who only eats vegetables and fruit showed up at the door.

They don’t come on Wednesday, so it was a surprise. The dad explained they cannot come tomorrow, so wondered if they could come a day early.

Boom! We quickly put together two bags of lovely vegetables and fruit, including items which just came in this morning. So cool when that happens. They were so very, very happy.

Today was the final day of the week for hygiene items to be offered. Thank you to everyone who helped fill the pantry the last week. Two loads of items actually came in today, one from 24-Seven Church and one from Evangelical Chinese Church. Thank you to both churches for your support. It’s great to have so many people helping. Tomorrow, bulk ingredient items will be offered. The lobby has been flipped and is ready to go.

The food truck will return this Friday from 4-7pm with Venezuelan cuisine. It was here in week 2 of the food truck and was very popular. Plan to come if you can.

A personal story from Ken:

On Monday, the continuing story for young son and his family was updated. In it, I had asked the mom, what else they needed, and she responded about needing help paying down their $840 Puget Sound Energy bill. From that, about six people responded and have paid off the bill in full directly to PSE, plus a little extra to cover next month. Below is an email from the mom sent me after learning this news. Today, she came to get groceries and brought her Grandma, who lives nearby. They both expressed their gratitude to everyone involved.

“Thank you u so much. I have no words to say you are a blessing in our family and I really want to thank all these people who are helping my family thank you so very much. I will only keep this in our family and my son who’s 17 cried when I read your email he said mom they don’t even know who we are who is there people out there who want to help us. Thank you very much and if it’s ok With you my family and I will love to do some thank you notes for the people who are helping us with they PSE bill and Also for the nice lady who helped me with the gas cards for my baby Leo. Thank you again very much. My family and I are going through hard times right now. But we appreciated very much your support and help. And thank you for being this wonderful person who cares for helping people who need it. Also, my husband does yard work and sprinklers and ask me if you guys need at any time help he will be more then happy to help please let me know if there’s anything we can do to thank you for all your support. Thank you and have a blessing afternoon 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼”

If anyone has local friends or neighbors who would like to help with the groceries but are not connected to a participating church, please send them the Jubilee Friends link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0b49a5aa2ba3fd0-jubilee. Here, they can choose any day which is convenient for them, and the process is set up to walk them through it.

Another sweet day in the books. Tomorrow marks day 100. Wow! Thank you for all you are doing to sustain this ‘Groceries for Families’ program.

Have a lovely evening, wherever you are tonight,

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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