Hunger In America » Good Cheer Blog

The Good Cheer Food Bank – How it Works

Feb 062010

February 6, 2010 Posted by Kathy McLaughlin 7 Responses »

The real story behind the success of the Good Cheer Food Bank are the people. People like Damien Cortez, the food bank coordinator, and the many volunteers who devote their time and energy. These are the frontline people who make this charity work. Damien is on the far left in the above photo.

I wanted to spend some time explaining the process of becoming a client of the food bank. Many of our clients have the ability of using the Food Stamp Program that is made possible through DSHS. The problem that many people find is that their benefits can be relatively small. The poverty threshold in America for a single person is $10,830 and for a family of four the number goes to $22,050.

The Opportunity Council is a great resource for a number of programs that can help you through the tough times. You can find information on programs that include food, nutrition, energy, shelter, and child care.

I have a friend who is currently unemployed and has a $1500 monthly social security benefit. He applied for Food Stamps and his benefits were only $16 a month; not much help. Living on such a tight budget presents a number of problems. What happens if you need to replace a tire or get new corrective lenses? You just put the problem off and that is not a good solution.

With that in mind, consider what the food bank can do to help. Perhaps a food supplement from the Good Cheer Food Bank might just save you a little money to ease some of your problems. Pride can always be an issue but that is just your ego talking to you. We are here to help the community and make the tough times a little easier.

Becoming a client at the food bank is very easy; we trust you when you say you need food. Good Cheer serves the community of South Whidbey; the boundary is Bakken Road just before the Greenbank store. If you live south of that area you quailty as a client.

The proof of residency can be a rental or lease agreement, a receipt of that rent or lease, a utility bill, pay check stub, a note from your landlord or any official mailing that comes to your address. Bring that and you are in!

Priya, one of our volunteers who may assist you, will take your information and set you up with an account. She will help you determine how many points you qualify for. A single person receives 70 points for the month; you receive an additional 10 points for every other family member.

You will then have an account at the food bank. You can access the food bank more than once during the month; just bear in mind that you can only use the number of points that you are allotted for the month.

A volunteer, perhaps Ula, will show you around the food bank and explain the points system and answer any questions that you may have. You will be given a shopping worksheet so that you can track the points that you have used. This information goes on file so that you will know know many points that you have left for the month after your visit.

I mention Ula since she is quite a big help to the food bank. She is a coupon cutter and her hard work allows us to get tremendous value for the money that we spend on food.

A few things that you should know:

Sometimes we have excess goods that are zero point items; you can take all that you can use.

All baby items are free (infants 2 years or younger) make sure to document this when you register.

If you bring your own shopping bags you receive an extra three points for the month.

It is pretty amazing what 70 points will provide in the way of food. You’ll find that fresh vegetables and fruits don’t cost you much in points and you can get a bag full of them; spring and summer will be nice with the fresh produce from the Good Cheer Garden. You will find that less healthy food like cookies will cost you more points. Remember the free items; for example pinto beans are healthy, provide fibre for your diet and taste good.

Good Cheer!

Hunger in America – South Whidbey Island Food Banks

Jan 252010

January 25, 2010 Posted by Kathy McLaughlin No Responses »

Hunger in America is a sad reality that we all must understand. This series on the Good Cheer Blogspot will attempt to be your eyes and ears on hunger in America and what we are doing locally to do our part in helping the people in the community.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released a tragic report on hunger in America. The report found that 49 million Americans; about 16% of the population lacked dependable access to adequate food last year. That was an increase of 13 million people over the previous year, when 12 percent of Americans faced what the government calls “food insecurity.” Of that number 23% were children.

You might ask what is food insecurity? When you don’t have the money you tend to eat cheaper foods which are often less nutritious. Sure there is the dollar menu at McDonalds but we all know that fast food is not good. People also tend to buy more processed foods which are higher in sodium and often filled with other chemicals.

People are turning more and more to food banks to supplement their food stamps. The hardest hit are the single parent families where one in three single mothers reported that they struggle to keep their families fed.

The people of South Whidbey can look at The Good Cheer Food Bank and Thrift Stores with a real sense of pride. The Thrift Stores are a big part of the program since they help to provide additional funds for the purchase of food for those who are in need.

The Good Cheer Garden is all about good nutrition straight from the earth.

Good Cheer has a great program for kids in their WIN Program. Whidbey Island Nourishes is sponsored by Good Cheer. This is a volunteer effort that provides free, nutritious sack lunches to people in need (especially children).

Without your support we would find it difficult to be your steward in the fight against hunger in the community.

Thank you for being there.