Good Cheer Food Bank – Volunteers

Mar 032010
 
 March 3, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin No Responses »

Volunteers really make Good Cheer a special place. They give energy and time out of their daily lives to help our community wide efforts on South Whidbey Island.  I wanted to spend some time recognizing the work of these special people; they are at the core of what we do at Good Cheer.

Ula Lewis is one of those special people.

Don’t let Ula see you throw away a coupon. She knows their real value.

Lewis is a special kind of volunteer for the Good Cheer Food Bank. She’s a coupon-clipper, organizer and frugal shopper who saves us hundreds of dollars a month by using coupons for items purchased at chain stores offering double and triple coupon redemptions.

As the mother of 11 children, Lewis had to watch her food budget at home and did so, partly by clipping coupons.

This past July, she decided to put her talent to work for Good Cheer by organizing coupons that Good Cheer had on hand and then adding to them. With the help of a small circle of friends, the coupon collection began to grow; so much so that Lewis invested in large plastic bins to keep all the coupons well filed.

Just about weekly, Ula and her friend Iola Helland go shopping on the mainland, mostly at the Albertsons and Fred Meyer stores.

“I tell the stores that I am shopping for the Good Cheer Food Bank, and that I am using coupons and will be buying sale items. Sometimes I phone ahead and they can bring in more of an item and hold it back for me.”

She always tries to shop more than one location of each store so that she doesn’t wipe any one store out of any products.

A recent example of her work are the boxes of brand name cereal on the shelves at the Food Bank. “They were marked $4.89 a box; but I watched the ads and found them on sale for $1.88 a box. I had a dollar off coupon for each box. So I got that cereal at 88 cents a box.” Another find was Kraft salad dressing at 37 cents a bottle, once the coupon was applied.

Lewis also will get certificates, from some stores, for $25 off her next purchases because of the quantity of groceries she buys, then uses them on her next shopping trip for Good Cheer.

She can spend up to 30 hours a week at her coupon and shopping work for Good Cheer; on top of volunteering at the Food Bank. This is a woman with a great heart!

“I appreciate Ula’s willingness to devote time not only for the coupon clipping and shopping, but also here at the Food Bank” says Food Bank Manager Damien Cortez. “She comes in regularly just to see if we need help and will give up her entire day just because she sees the need. I honestly don’t know what we would have done without her this week!”

We all love what Ula is doing for us at the food bank. It is something many in the community had encouraged us to do. It was so nice when someone said I will do it for you!

Lewis had a time in her life when she was on food stamps, so she understands the value of help. “I learned then that you can use coupons with food stamps. I figured if someone was going to give me money for food, I would spend it in the most economical way that I could.”

Helping others now is a way of paying back.

Anyone wanting to give coupons to Lewis for her project can bring them to Good Cheer.  Ulla will make good use of them:)

Green Oceans

Mar 012010
 
 March 1, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin No Responses »

Photo by Paulo Brandao – Flickr

The Nature Conservancy has presented us with a simple list of things that we can do to help our oceans. Our oceans should not be taken for granted. The oceans provide food and economic opportunities. The barrier beaches, coral reefs, and wetlands provide protection from storms.

You’ll find that many of the suggestions are about going green.  This is all about setting roots in our culture and about the importance of being good stewards of our Planet. Taking action creates a domino effect; it can inspire others to take action.

Reduce your plastic consumption

Our beaches are littered with items made of plastic; so buy reusable shopping bags and water bottles.

Photo by por2able – Flickr

Make informed seafood choices

This is about choosing sustainable seafood. We have to stop overfishing certain species so that they have a chance to increase their numbers. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a seafood guide that helps you support ocean friendly seafood.

Photo by AngelaEngel – Flickr

Dispose of chemicals properly

Never pour chemicals, pharmaceuticals, oils or paints into your drains or toilets.

Photo by Vanessa Pike-Russell’s – Flickr

Choose green detergents and household cleaners

Photo by Eustaquio Santimano’s – Flickr

Get the dirt on your beachside retreat

Before you stay in a hotel on the coast, ask the staff what happens to their sewage and swimming pool water, and if they source their restaurant fish from sustainable sources. It doesn’t hurt to ask; you might get them to move in the right direction, if they haven’t already.

Photo by worldsurfer – Flickr

Find out the source of your food

Buying local and organic food reduces your carbon footprint. This action supports the local economy and reduces the amount of pesticides and fertilizers that end up not just in your stomach, but as run-off in rivers and oceans, too.

Fill your yard with native species

Reducing the amount of grass in your lawn by planting native shrubs and flower beds will provide a better habitat for birds and other wildlife and require far less water and fertilizer, which can seep into the oceans. This is not as large of an issue as you would find in the desert southwest. Green fertilizers would be a helpful move.

Keep your beach visit clean

When visiting the beach, stay off fragile sand dunes, take your trash with you and leave plants, birds and wildlife for everyone to enjoy.

Photo by Sam and Ian – Flickr

Choose alternatives to coral

Whether shopping for jewelry, household décor or accessories for your fish tank, do your part to leave fragile coral reef habitats untouched by buying products that aren’t made of real coral.

Photo by Michael Dawes’ – Flickr

Celebrate our oceans

Whether you live inland or on the coast, we are all connected to the ocean; take the time to organize or participate in activities that restore and celebrate the ocean, and help support The Nature Conservancy’s ocean conservation work.

Sustainability and Living Green Links

Feb 262010
 
 February 26, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin No Responses »

This weeks look at green living and sustainability begins with Bridgette Meinhold writing for inhabitat. She has a great article on new sugar based plastics. This could be a huge breakthrough; imagine composting your plastic bottles!!!  If you haven’t read my post on Plastics and Our Oceans you can click here as well.

Turning nuclear waste into fuel; if we’re going in that direction again this is a better solution.  Ariel Schwartz writing for inhabitat discusses the issues of nuclear fuel and a better alternative.

In the last piece we have Zachary Shahan talking about 7 Myths about Climate Change Science. This Platesave post has some very good videos. You have Rachel Madow and the Science Guy and two very knowledgeable climate scientists. Climate change is a global event and must be considered in that vein. The last video is filled with good information; if you are short on time; it’s the one to watch.

Plastics and Our Oceans

Feb 182010
 
 February 18, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin 2 Responses »

Our oceans are being threatened by “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” This is a phenomenon that has many scientists concerned. The debris field of this massive vortex of floating plastic trash is said to be twice the size of Texas.

An article written by Paul Rogers from the San Jose Mercury News highlights some of the issues that are involved. For the full article you can click here.

“The bobbing debris field, where currents swirl everything from discarded fishing line to plastic bottles into one soupy mess, is about 1,000 miles west of California,” Rogers writes.

On Whidbey Island it is not uncommon to find plastic bottles or debris that is washed on to our shores.

It may be impossible to clean up this mess. The larger pieces can be pulled from the ocean; however, we are dealing with an area that is just too large.

Rogers says “First, most of the plastic is broken into tiny fragments. Plastic becomes brittle from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation and eventually breaks up into minuscule pieces like confetti. Billions float just below the surface in the garbage patch, which is located north of Hawaii but shifts in size and location depending on the season and the currents.”

Holly Bamford, director of marine-debris program for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Silver Spring, Md. has these comments.“Albatrosses and other sea birds die from ingesting plastic, which fills their stomachs without providing nutrition. The plastic pieces also can absorb toxic chemicals, which then migrate up the food chain, even potentially contaminating fish that humans eat.”

This issue is an “out of sight out of mind” issue according to Rogers. We can be thankful that scientists are looking into the problem. However, we must be more vigilant in protecting our planet. We need to be disciplined and create habits that are friendlier to the environment.

This is all about setting roots in our culture; about the importance of being good stewards of our Planet. Taking action creates a domino effect; it can inspire others to take action. Our beaches and oceans are littered with items made of plastic; so buy reusable shopping bags and water bottles. Whidbey Island residents seem to be ahead of the times.

We Are the World 25 – Whidbey Island

Feb 152010
 
 February 15, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin No Responses »

We are the World began 25 years ago to support famine relief in Africa. Much has happened in this World of ours; the People of the World have begun to open their eyes and ears. You can just sense that humanity is ready for a change; though some will fight that change.

The World is a community of People who outside the structure of our societies truly desire to do good. We are truly a family of the Universe, here on Earth, and we can choose to bring light into the lives of others.

We are the Children. We all have a child that is still inside of us and for that we should all be grateful. There is a certain resiliency in children; a peace and happiness about life that we all can plainly see. Yes, we can come together and make this a better world.

Somewhere in every person’s soul are the seeds of kindness and compassion. Why it is not nourished is the question that we must ask ourselves. Why do we need to be right? Why do we fear other cultures?

There is a beauty to this World and it lies within in it’s People.

Your compassion for the food bank here on South Whidbey is a gift from the Universe.

Thank you.

You can view the “We are the World 25″ video by just clicking on the photo below; remember to view the video in full screen since it will give you a better visual impact.  .

Prima Bistro in Langley recently hosted an event supporting aid to Haiti. A fellow blogger had a nice piece about the restaurant; you can click here to view his post.

Tough Times – Yesterday’s News

Feb 092010
 
 February 9, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin No Responses »

Times are tough for many but perhaps that can be yesterday’s news. I have always felt that it is important to live in the present; to strive everyday to have positive thoughts and actions. I know that sounds pretty simplistic; I guess it’s about trusting yourself and trying not to dwell on the past. 

Whidbey Island has a community of artists and that got me thinking about a great story of perseverance and a woman by the name of Ginny Ruffner.  Perhaps we can all take something from this story:

We find beauty in life in many ways; the fun part is being able to share it with someone else.

Ginny Ruffner creates the precious beauty of art with her eyes, hands and heart. That is what artists do! She is a very special person and wonderful glass artist. I hope you enjoy meeting her through this article.

Here is a link to a video back in 1990. When your finished with the video just click the back button to return to the site.

Her comments on Glass Art:

“The most noticeable thing about glass is its beauty; and it’s kind of dangerous because most people get lost in the beauty.”

“What I want my work to do is make people think about what beauty is.”

The accident:

Ginny was in a serious car accident in 1991. It has affected her speech and mobility but not her creative mind. They told her that she “would never walk or talk”. Her response was “watch this!”  Ginny is a vibrant and dedicated artist who continues to let beauty loose in this world of ours.

You could describe her work as great fun, energetic, lively and whimsical.

She uses a number of glass pieces in her work; assembling them as if it were a painting. In fact, you will find painting on some of her glass work. The glass has become her canvas. Ginny always has had help with the painting. What was previously a choice is now a necessity.

Ginny’s inspiration comes from her “garden, cat, home, affairs of the heart and intellectual curiosity”.

Here is a video link to some of her more recent work. Listen to her words.

Her heart’s desire is to make art that is available to more people! “Her reason for being is art”

Great Heart! And she’s taking us along for the ride!

Her tough times are Yesterday’s News. We all have certain gifts that can make us stronger we just have to remember and work to overcome yesterday’s news. Remember, until that happens for you we are here to help.

You can visit Ginny’s website by clicking here.

Hope you enjoyed!

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!

Spaghetti Benefit Night – Harry’s Pizza in Freeland

Feb 042010
 
 February 4, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin 1 Response »

Harry’s Pizza in Freeland is hosting a benefit event for the Good Cheer Food Bank. Spaghetti Night at Harry’s Pizza will take place on Saturday, February 13th, from 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm.

This is a Valentine’s Day weekend and a great time to show your support for the Food Bank here on South Whidbey Island.  Be sure to mark your calendar.

All proceeds from Spaghetti Dinners will be donated to the Good Cheer Food Bank. The dinners include a garden salad and garlic bread. Spaghetti with meat sauce is $7.95 and with giant meatballs $9.95.

The fact that all the proceeds go directly to the food bank makes this a rare opportunity to directly support our community. Every month over 700 families are relying on Good Cheer to provide them with supplemental food supplies.

Everyone involved in this community charity works hard to ensure that Good Cheer is able to fulfill its mission of creating a hunger-free community. It is truly your support that makes this program work.

Patrick (photo above) and Kathy are continuing the tradition of serving and supporting the community. Kathy’s parents, Harold and Donna White, started the business in 1975 and this year they are celebrating 35 years on South Whidbey Island.

Donna, who passed away in 1997, was involved with many local service organizations. She established their annual Santa Breakfast. The idea was to help create family holiday memories  for kids and they have been doing this since 1993.

Let’s all make an effort to get the word out!  I know that Patrick and Kathy are looking forward to serving a lot of spaghetti; let’s keep them busy!

Thanks for being there. We hear that a lot from our clients and you need to know how much you are appreciated.

Sustaining and Protecting Salmon Runs

Jan 312010
 
 January 31, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin No Responses »

The The Nature Conservancy has produced a wonderful piece on restoring the Salmon runs. It is really about working together so that everybody is a winner.

There is a beauty in this species and a cultural history that goes far back in time. Salmon have provided nourishment and livelihoods for the many who work the oceans; we have been taking the species for granted.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a “Seafood Watch” guide that is a great consumer tool. We don’t want to find ourselves having to avoid Salmon like we should currently be avoiding Chilean Sea Bass.

This is about sustaining our fisheries. You may be surprised to see farmed fish (Salmon and others) on the list. The reason for avoiding these fish has to do with how they are farmed. For example, it takes 5 kilos of anchovies to produce 1 kilo of farmed salmon. This practice takes protein directly out of the mouths of poor people in distant lands that depend on this fish for nourishment.

The encouraging note that I took away from the video on Salmon was that there are people willing to get involved and trying to make a difference.  From one come many!

Any actions that we take, personally, can act as a domino effect on others.  Sometimes taking that small step is difficult; just like learning how to walk.

Here is the video from The Nature Conservancy. You’ll need to click on watch video, Salmon Country, and then overview on the subsequent page.

Good Cheer Food Bank – Capital Fund Drive Revisited

Jan 282010
 
 January 28, 2010  Posted by Kathy McLaughlin No Responses »

The new blog site is enabling us to get information to you on a more frequent basis. Some of you, who are actively involved, will be more aware of the progress and goals that we have set.

Now that Phase One is completed it is time to move on to the next phase.

September 12th was when Laura Price, the former Board President, burned the old loan papers. Now the facility and its improvements are free and clear. Phase One involved the purchase of the former Masonic Lodge and property in Bayview, plus making renovations and constructing the addition of a freezer and refrigerator wing.

The next challenge involves opening up the second floor of The Good Cheer Langley Thrift Store. The thrift stores are the main operational funding source for the food bank. The addition of an elevator to the second floor will allow us establish office spaces, meeting rooms, storage and a place to mark and price merchandise. This will allows us to renovate the main floor and  add more floor space.

The thrift stores are what make The Good Cheer Food Bank truly unique. We don’t have to rely on governmental grants/programs and general fund raising for financial stability.

Many food banks across America are seeing shortages; we are much more stable with the support
that the thrift stores provide.

Also, unlike many other food banks in the state, Good Cheer Food Bank is open at least seven hours a day, six days a week and even provides home delivery to house-bound seniors and the disabled. A search for other similar programs has not turned up a comparable self-sustaining food bank operation in terms of scale and hours of operation in western Washington.

This successful and replicable funding approach has caught the interest of other food banks in the Northwest. With the improvement of facilities, Good Cheer will offer information to other organizations interested in this model of client services and operational sustainability.

People helping people for all the right reasons; pretty wonderful!

The additional square footage could well mean an additional $25,000 a year in revenues. This money will help to fund the operational aspect of the Food Bank. The capital campaign is currently at $1,137,00; 81% towards its $1.4 million goal.

You may ask who we are serving on South Whidbey? In 2007 Good Cheer provided food to 2,780 people. In 2008, this number jumped to 4,044, and in 2009, client numbers were once again up; 5,046 people accessed supplemental food through the Food Bank at least once during the year. In December of 2009, 830 households came to the Food Bank.

Clients include the unemployed, single mothers, seniors, the chronically ill, the physically and mentally disabled, displaced homemakers, homeless teens and families, and increasingly, the working poor.

Due to the high cost of living on South Whidbey, Good Cheer assists many families where either one or both parents are employed, the working poor. According to the U.S. 2000 census, in Freeland alone, about 10% of families and 12% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 6% of those age 65 or over. Many clients only access the Food Bank for a short time while others rely on it year round.

Please help us complete the campaign. Capital Campaign donations can be mailed to Good Cheer Capital Campaign: PO Box 144, Langley, WA 98260.

Here is a link to our Donation Page.

For information about making a pledge, building naming opportunities, and gifts of stock or property, contact Kathy McLaughlin at Good Cheer at (360) 221-6454, ext. 6.

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