News - Local News

POSTED: Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2009

New Sumas food bank helps meet demand in recession

SUMAS - The lines are growing outside local food banks. But it seems the tougher the economy, the more people pull together and help, whether it's by donating or creating a service where someone sees a need.

That's what Sumas City Councilman Bob Mitchell did when he worked to open the Sumas Food Bank a few months ago.

"This has been nagging on my heart for probably the last 10 years," Mitchell said. "The Nooksack Valley Food Bank is our parent in that they agreed to supply us with food and they feel that it will lighten their load to a certain extent. The name of the game is feeding people, and they've been really good with us."

The Sumas Food Bank is now open every Thursday from noon to 3 p.m. on Cherry Street. Volunteers from Valley Community Church and Christian Reform Church hand out about 30 boxes of food each week, enough to feed about 94 people. The local post office ran a food drive for the bank, and local farmers and gardeners often bring fresh produce.

"We have people that come into town, go to the store and say, 'Put this on your shelf,'" he said. "It's really nice."

That kind of community support is being seen at several county food banks.

"I'd like to think that when the need is there people come through, communities come through," said Jim Noteboom, director of the Nooksack Valley Food Bank. "We've been supported quite well and we haven't had to go begging for anything."

Demand is up at the Nooksack food bank and many others. Noteboom didn't have precise numbers, but he said that in the past six to nine months, the bank has seen a definite increase in clients. The same has occurred at the Bellingham Food Bank.

"Our client visits this year are up about 9 percent," said Mike Cohen, the Bellingham bank's executive director. "(It) doesn't sound like a lot, but that's compared to last year when we were up about 25 percent."

Many of the new people are coming in after losing their jobs or having their pay or hours cut. Unemployment rates in Whatcom County reached nearly 9 percent this spring, a jump from the county's usual range of 4 to 6 percent in the past few years.

Cohen said this is the most activity he's seen in his four years with the food bank.

"It's shocking. We're now averaging 8,500 visits a month, and we're responding by handing out 200,000 pounds a month," he said.

The Bellingham Food Bank has been working with a few programs to help increase the amount and broaden the types of food that it can hand out. The Food Bank Farm provides about 20,000 pounds of produce per year, and the Small Potatoes Gleaning Project collects 60,000 to 80,000 pounds of food per year from farmers who are done with their harvest.

With the Milk Money Campaign, the food bank has partnered with Edaleen Dairy for discounted milk so each family that comes in can get a half gallon. These programs, combined with donations of time, money and food from the community, have helped food banks meet the record demand for their services.

"The community has been really responsive, and our donations are also at a record level, but I'm just not sure how long that's going to continue," Cohen said. "We appreciate the support we've gotten, and we continue to need it because we see that line continue to grow."

Reach Zoe Fraley at zoe.fraley@bellinghamherald.com or call 756-2803.

MORE INFORMATION

The Sumas Food Bank is open from noon to 3 p.m. Thursdays at The Station youth center, 735 Cherry St. If you're interested in volunteering, donating or looking for more information, call Bob Mitchell at 961-6755.

To contact the Bellingham Food Bank to volunteer or donate, call 676-0392.

Contact the Nooksack Valley Food Bank at 966-4833.

MOST WANTED

Local food banks say these are the most-needed items:

Cash (used to purchase meat, dairy, other needs)

Canned fruits and vegetables

Pasta

Fresh produce from your garden.