In tough times, the food bank provides a lifeline

Published 12:48 pm Tuesday, October 7, 2008

By YVONNE PITROF

Nearly all of us have been following the headlines over the last few weeks, wondering what the world is going to look like three months or a year from now and where we’ll find ourselves in that new world order.

Some of us are already feeling it personally — in the job hunt that’s going poorly, in the foreclosure we are facing, in the retirement savings that are now gone, in the bills we can no longer pay. We are seeing new faces at the food bank all the time and expect to see even more, many who never imagined themselves walking through our door to “shop.”

Yes, these are hard times, and it doesn’t look like they will magically get better anytime soon. And here is where we need community more than ever.

The Vashon Maury Community Food Bank has been and continues to be a community resource, a tool, to help our fellow Islanders stretch their own personal resources during hard times so they can at least keep up on the very basics of holding a life and family together. There is no shame in this. It is simply people helping people. It is what a solid community is about.

There are times we are able to give, and being able to give feels wonderful and fulfilling. There are also times when we have to swallow our pride and learn to receive for once and allow others the opportunity to give. I’ve told many folks who are struggling, burning up their savings but hesitant to come to the food bank, “Don’t bankrupt yourself before you use the food bank. We are here so that you don’t have to bankrupt yourself.”

And now, there is an additional resource that will help many folks who have been riding that edge. Washington state has taken some initiative and increased the gross income limit one needs to qualify for the food stamp program, Basic Food. Previous restrictions on assets are also being changed. This means more people, and especially the working poor, will qualify for some help with their grocery bill each month. Coupon books are no longer used. There is no embarrassing sign of being one of those people in line at the grocery store fiddling with your food stamps. You simply have a card that is used like a debit card at the register that automatically accesses your benefits.

There are some cross benefits to signing up for Basic Food as well. For families enrolled in Basic Food, school-aged children will automatically be enrolled in the free/reduced price lunch program at their school. Again, at school, this program runs smoothly alongside the regular lunch program with no distinctions or identifiers. Sadly, this program has been severely under-used here on Vashon, with many more kids qualifying than are enrolled and using it.

And now, thanks to numerous efforts to create the physical space, a group of dedicated and trained volunteers and a partnership with the state Department of Social and Health Services, we will be able help sign people up for the food stamp program at the food bank on Wednesdays during distributions beginning late October. Food Stamps won’t cover everything, by any means, but they are one more resource to help stretch dollars a little.

No one should have to choose between heat or dinner, housing or lunch, health care or breakfast. It is our hope, that with our services, people don’t have to make those choices. We will continue to be a solid and steady rock amid the storms of life that people in our community can rely on. To do that, we need your support even in these unsteady times.

This resource, the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank, is grounded in community, supported by our community and sustained by our community. We are people helping people, neighbors helping neighbors. Nearly 90 percent of our funding comes directly from the Vashon community. We leverage these funds to bring in and distribute almost three times their value in food for the nearly 10 percent of Islanders who rely on our services.

And now, we are also making it easier for Islanders to connect with additional available resources without having the cost of leaving the Island. Through these efforts, we’re attempting to eliminate the need to choose between necessities and to support the health of our community.

— Yvonne Pitrof is the executive director of the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank.