Points System at Good Cheer

On South Whidbey Island,  the Good Cheer Food Bank is working on a food revolution. This involves back-to-basics healthy, low-cost cooking. Good Cheer has been steadily ramping up its efforts to provide fresh and nutritious food.

This strategy has evolved by focusing on the right purchases for the Food Bank, and the by creation of  an on-site garden.

We have established teaching programs on cooking fresh, healthy, unprocessed food in convenient, affordable ways.

Since relocating the Food Bank to the more spacious facility in Bayview in October 2007, Good Cheer has not only been able to increase the volume of food available to neighbors in need, but has made a concerted effort in improving the quality of food with an emphasis on fresh, local and less processed foods.

The Good Cheer Food Bank is like a grocery store. A grocery store with a points system.

The Points System at Good Cheer provides a one-person household with a base of 70 points to spend per month at the Food Bank,  with an additional 10 points per person if the household is larger. The clients also receives an additional 3 points by providing their own bags.

The Food Bank encourages clients to select the most nutritious food by assigning fresh vegetables, fruits, beans, rice and other raw staples with lower points. Many times this summer and fall our clients could pick up fresh garden vegetables for no points, that really encourages healthful eating.

The Gleeful Gleaners have been a real asset to the food bank. The group looks for worm-free fruit from non-sprayed trees, and gladly accepts donated harvested fruit to go along with what the volunteers pick. They actually scout the neighborhoods and knock on doors in support of their program. Having fresh fruits with low to no points is terrific and another great example of community support.

Clients will rapidly run out of points selecting highly processed foods at 5 or 10 points instead of fresh vegetables and fruit for 1 point, or a ten pound sack of potatoes for 3 points versus a small box of instant mashed potatoes for 3 points. A can of baked beans is 3 points, whereas a five lb. bag of beans is only 1 point. Sometimes, through the help of volunteers, we will have surplus items and that will lower the point pricing.

What we’re trying to do is to show the benefits to healthy food selections and how much further the basics can go in feeding a family, so that few refined foods and sweets (mainly donated items) are selected only on an occasional basis.

We are determined to make a positive difference in the lives of our clients!

Good Cheer!