GROCERIES FOR FAMILIES

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 8/18/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 8/18/20

Groceries for Families: Week 22 - Day 2

Tuesdays (& Fridays) are super busy, so are really popular with the crew. Today was no exception. Lots going on over here. The morning has deliveries streaming in from as early as 8am. Quite a few came by Safeway and InstaCart. The afternoon was a constant flow of families, many of which are larger in size so get two orders. A lot of food flowed out of this place today. The weather was exceptionally cooperative, with the morning being cloudy & cool and the sun finally coming out in the afternoon. Such a nice day all around.

Groceries today came from Creekside Covenant, Bellevue Presbyterian, Westminster Chapel, Cornerstone, and Crossroads Bible churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 163 orders came in and all went out to families today, as well as 4 additional food boxes. The last family actually came at 5pm tonight. Thank you to everyone who donated today!

Food boxes were delivered at 7:00am this morning and kept cold in the truck until volunteers arrived at 7:45am to sort them.

El Dios Viviente Church took three pallets of them to their community in White Center, Seattle.

The perishables of the other two pallets were unpacked to the refrigerator. Some went out today but most will go out to families tomorrow for overflow needs.

Both the market and exit line tables were full of food today.

Donations from the QFC Crossroads and Lake Samm Foursquare food bank came in with a nice variety of items.

Bakery goods, loaves of bread, fresh fruit, vegetables, canned goods, books, light bulbs, feminine hygiene, dairy, and more were all available.

Thank you to everyone who gives extra to make this happen!

A few stories from Ken:

One of the family members brought the crew a very tasty Mexican lunch of beans and chicken with tortillas today. She has brought food before, and we are always excited to enjoy her authentic cuisine. She simply wants to say thank you to everyone and using food is the best way she knows how. Her son Miguel is often with her, as she uses a walker. Today, a caregiver was escorting her. She is a very sweet lady. Although you all can’t enjoy the lunch, please accept her thanks passed to you. You are helping her and her family.
A woman showed up at the door at 4pm today, asking if it was still possible to get groceries. I know her by face, not name, and know she normally comes Mon/Thu. I asked a few questions to clarify why she is coming on the wrong day. She very quietly shared that life is very complicated right now for their family. She has nine children (wow!), so has appointments every day at various times. She can’t get to Jubilee sometimes on her normal day. Because she also missed late last week, she didn’t get diapers. I could feel the desperation in her voice as she kindly asked for extra things. We packed her a full order of groceries and gave her the extra diapers/wipes. As I watched her drive away, I wondered what life is like for her…really. It must be very hard. She’s in her 30’s. Why does she have so many children? Maybe it is a blended family. I don’t know much, but my heart worries for her with so much burden being carried. I’ll look to talk with her again later this week. Please join me in praying for her and their family.

Day 128 was a good one. There are so many good things happening here. Much of it is because a relationship now exists with these families. There is definitely community which has broken out on each day. We hope people feel welcomed, expected, wanted, that they belong and are deeply cared for with love. Alleigha (who runs the I-pad outside most days) shared today that when she came back from being gone for a week, families told her how much they missed her and wondered why she didn’t say goodbye to them. Love that. Feels good. Thanks so much for making that sort of relationship possible.

Have a great evening, wherever this entry finds you.

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 8/17/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 8/17/20

Groceries for Families: Week 22 - Day 1

(First, a shout out and thank you to Ashley and Sam for filling my shoes four days last week. Plus, a big thank you to the full crew who watched over this program with their experienced eyes. My family had a great time camping off the grid on Lake Crescent. It feels good to be back.)

Today begins week 22 of the ‘Groceries for Families’ program, with today being day 126. Mondays tend to be lighter activity than other days, but today was a very typical day in the life of Monday. There was a lot of activity with 8 different groups dropping off groceries all morning long. A number of pantry items deliveries also came in, which is great. Families came all afternoon, with the biggest rush coming at 2:45pm, just before closing time. The weather was hot, but nothing like yesterday. We certainly lucked out that Sunday was the scorcher.

Groceries today came from Rain City, Lighthouse, Bellevue Presbyterian, 24-Seven, Common Good, Bellevue Christian Reformed, and Sacred Heart churches, as well as the Jubilee Friends group. A total of 111 orders came in and all went out to families today, including 23 by delivery. Thank you to everyone who participated today!

Both the market and the exit line tables were very full today with extra foods.

Lots have come in with grocery donations lately. Thank you!

Volunteers brought donations from the Thrashers Corner Safeway in Bothell and the Crossroads QFC. Thank you!

A sampling of what was available: bakery items, milk, fruit, vegetables, canned goods, dairy, loaves of bread, feminine hygiene, and more. Thank you!

Families were offered three personal hygiene items today from a selection of paper towels, toilet paper, bar soap, shampoo, shaving, deodorant, dish soap, and toothpaste.

For sure, the paper products are the most popular, as they are consumed the fastest. Thank you to everyone who filled the pantry this past week.

The food truck this week will be here Thursday. It is a Mexican cuisine which was here two weeks ago and is the best food we’ve seen here yet. Come try it!

A personal story from Ken:

There is a woman who comes regularly every Monday and Thursday. While I recognize her, I’ve not talked with her much as she doesn’t speak any English and is quite shy. Normally, I say hello and she gives a nice smile in return. Last Monday, she was at the front of the line while I was there, so I asked how her family was doing, in my poor Spanish. They are all fine. I then asked where she is from originally. She said Nicaragua. [Door opens] I shared, again in my poor Spanish that my family has been to Nicaragua twice on mission trips. With this new information, she lit up. She was so excited to hear I knew about Nicaragua. She is from Managua, where we served. I even told her the neighborhood and she knew it well. So, I pulled out my phone and a map of Nicaragua. Together, I showed her where we went, and she showed me the neighborhood where she is from. She then forgot totally that my Spanish is from 2 years in high school in the ’80s and proceeded to tell me all about Nicaragua in the fastest Spanish I’ve ever heard. I just kept nodding my head and smiling. She left very, very happy, as was I. Today, she returned and brought me a key chain gift of a Nicaraguan musical instrument. I’m excited to see where this new friendship and connection go in the coming weeks. Pretty cool.

We begin this week with about 500 families in this program. There are no families on the waiting list, as we’re currently adding new families as they show up. Thank you for all you’re doing to support these sweet families.

This program will be shifting to a new version on September 1. Details have been rolled out to the participating churches and more information is going out to others. Details will be included in this email in the coming days. The need in the community remains high, and together we can continue to walk alongside these families in crisis.

Enjoy the warmth of the evening,

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

Jubilee REACH Communications 8/15/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 8/15/20

Groceries for Families: Week 21 - Day 6

This is Ashley, reporting for duty the last time on behalf of the JR crew and to finish Week 21 out! What a strong finish it was as we were able to give out lots of great groceries, items in the market, diapers, and bulk foods. And I must give a special thank you to everyone who has answered the call of diapers Size 4,5, and 6, toilet paper, and baby wipes as we have seen lots come in the past couple of days when we were running low. Thank you!

We received groceries today from Bel Pres, Evangelical Chinese, Victory Court and our fun Jubilee Friends. After being wiped out of food yesterday, we were a little nervous that we would be short today, but once again, it is amazing to see how things will appear and show up as needed. Thank you so much for continuing to bless our dear families. Every single item matters and goes to great use. The families show up with big smiles and give their thanks and blessings to you all. It means everything to know they are not alone and seen.

Saturdays are really fun as well because we get to see a lot more kids. 😊 Site Coach Alleigha (Chinook) has been helping take the lead for many of these shifts and gets to hand out bubbles.

Sam continues to bring us comedic relief with his jokes and presence throughout the day to jump in whenever needed, and keep us all calm (picture to the right).

Throughout this COVID time, it has been such a blessing to see the staff bond together and support each other through the high and low times.

It is tough work, so continue to pray for health and peace, especially as we adjust to the school year coming up quickly.

Bulk Numbers for this week:

Flour: 88 bags or 180lbs
Rice: 180 bags or 450lbs
Beans: 185 bags or 222lbs
Sugar: 269 bags or 202lbs
Salt: 178 bags or 89lbs

It has been a joy and pleasure to get to be with you all this week. Thank you for being so kind as we are able to give Ken a much-needed break and time with his family. Feel free to reach out to me whenever and I look forward to seeing you in the near future! Stay safe and kind!

Ashley Page
Events Manager, Jubilee REACH

Jubilee REACH Communications 8/14/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 8/14/20

Groceries for Families: Week 21 - Day 5

I tried to convince another special guest (our other great leader, Sam, who continues to provide so much love and support to this program) to do a special report on the nightly newsletter for you, but no fear, you get to hear from me (Ashley) again! We officially survived day 3 of Ken being gone and what a busy day it was with lots of fun to talk about. I officially hit 14,000 steps today and maybe burned off 2lbs of the COVID donuts that I have been eating. A special thank you to everyone who has brought donuts for the staff throughout these months 😊 We always appreciate them!

The morning started off really exciting as Crossroads Bible Church showed up with their trusted truck and load of groceries. We also received groceries from Evangelical Chinese, Covenant Presbyterian, Westminster Chapel, Bel Pres, and Jubilee Friends from the school district and community.

Jubilee REACH Site Coach Kandan (Chinook) helped lead the morning shift today and had a great time talking with everyone and Barney Bear who has been a member of Bel Pres for 20 years! It is always such a joy to see you all and thank you so much for blessing our dear families and us with these gifts of love and your smiles. Site Coach Daniel, showed up as well and was all nervous and excited for a very important Barcelona soccer match this afternoon, as he is a huge fan. But don’t ask him how that game ended. 😉

Our market today was fully stocked and families were so excited to pick from the amazing selection of canned goods, bread, extra vegetables, fruit, and peanut butter (pictures to the left).

We definitely had the most families that we have seen this week and gave away all of our groceries, plus diapers, baby wipes, rice, pinto beans, flour, sugar, salt, and pet food.

This was the first day that we actually went through our entire bulk food amount for the day!

I was able to work the entire afternoon shift outside and see a lot of the dear families and kids that come by on Fridays.

I am learning quickly that Ken is the toy man as they would look inside the windows to see if we had any fun trinkets to hand out.

We had some cute stuffed animals that our kids were so excited to receive along with crayons, colored pencils, markers, and bubbles.

As you know from previous reports, many of the kids bring back beautiful artwork and notes that we hang up in the lobby.

Vanessa, one of our sweet girls, has been coloring us beautiful pictures the past three weeks and was so excited to bring her new addition by today (picture to the right).

As you can see, her artistry has gotten more precise over the weeks and they are a blessing to look at every day.

We can’t thank you enough for the amount of trust and love that you give to us at Jubilee so that we can be an extension of that to our families and kids. It is something we do not take lightly and our spirits continue to be high as we continually feel and see your love and support through the groceries, bulk foods, hygiene items, fun items, and that you continue to show up for us.

One more day until you are back to Ken.
Onwards in love we go! Stay safe and kind!

Ashley Page
Events Manager, Jubilee REACH

Jubilee REACH Communications 8/13/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 8/13/20

Groceries for Families: Week 21 - Day 4

This is Ashley, reporting again on behalf of Ken and the JR Team. I am also happy to report that we have survived another day without Ken and the Jubilee team has done such a great job supporting each other through these days. It really is a testament to Ken’s organizational skills and ability to run the program as there is a consistent and smooth tempo to the day and the shifts. I continue to be overwhelmed and filled with so much joy to see so many smiling faces in the morning as many of you come to drop off groceries and other items. Several people have asked if Ken is okay, so I felt like I should remind people that he is happily on vacation, camping with his family. 😊 I’ll let Ken know that there were many concerns when he returns, which is so sweet.

Today was a nice pace as grocery orders showed up really early so we were able to put together a fun market with lots of canned goods and various items that the families love to pick up. We had 149 grocery orders today from 8 different groups: Sacred Heart, Kalos, Overlake Presbyterian, Redeemer, BelPres, First United Methodist, Doxa, and Jubilee Friends.

We had a really fun drop off of 50 dairy boxes from our friends at Farmer Frog.

It was also fun to meet Tim, who works at the Bellevue School District, who graciously dropped the boxes off at the center for us.

Today was bulk foods and diaper day as well which is always nice to give to the families.

This really is a wide, community effort that continues to blow me away as I see more of the details and daily operations. The amount of families that came in the afternoon was a little less than normal, which is okay, because we know that Fridays and Saturdays are usually very busy and the extra food is needed. Thank you so much for showing up with your items and smiles on your faces. Every single item goes to great use and the families are so blessed by your love.

Another day here were go! Stay safe and well!

Ashley Page
Events Manager, Jubilee REACH

Jubilee REACH Communications 8/12/20 Jubilee REACH Communications 8/12/20

Groceries for Families: Week 21 - Day 3

This is Ashley, reporting today on behalf of the great Ken Carpenter. I hope this finds you well and thank you in advance for your incredible support and patience as I attempt to fill some big shoes. So far things have gone extremely well and it is so fun to be able to be outside and greet people as they deliver groceries and various hygiene, bulk, and market items. Seeing faces to names has been so exciting, although the masks make it hard, but safety first!

Today was really busy and I put in 8,000 steps in the morning shift alone!

We had drop-offs from Costco (thank you to Evangelical Chinese Church) of hygiene items, many wonderful gardeners from around the area who brought in fabulous, fresh produce, Sharon from 24-Seven, and grocery orders from Bel Pres, Highland Covenant, Bellevue Christian Reformed Church, St. Louise, and Jubilee Friends!

Thank you so much to everyone for your consistent and gracious love and support to these dear families.

A total of 135 orders came in and all were given out today. I think the families knew that Ken was gone today because we had many of them start lining up extra early 😉

Maybe they could smell the fresh produce. Our wonderful volunteers today were led by the great Sam and they get their tasks done in record time.

The afternoon shift went really smooth and some of the site coaches and myself tried to practice our Spanish. Always a funny sight to see. We also have the yummy “Cascadia Pizza” truck here tonight from 4-7pm. Spirits are still really high as we feel the love and support from all of you around us.

That’s all for today, but pray that Ken gets lots of rest and relaxation with his sweet family. He has put so much heart and time into this program. I know he misses you all though 😊 I hope to be able to meet many of you throughout the rest of the week.

Stay safe and kind my friends!

Ashley Page
Events Manager, Jubilee REACH

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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