Sky Valley Food Bank Director Neil Watkins stopped by Monroe City Council recently to provide a year-end report along with a comprehensive overview of the services provided by the food bank.
The food bank, which is located adjacent to the Monroe Boys and Girls Club, serves members of the community residing within the parameters of the Monroe School District. The food bank is open every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Monday evening.
"In those hours we distribute an awful lot of food,GÇ¥ said Watkins. "We are part of Food Lifeline, we are affiliated with NW Harvest, and we are part of the Snohomish County Food Bank Coalition. So we're very active in the community and in the food bank community, and we're very, very active in the fight against hunger.GÇ¥
Families are able to obtain food from the food bank on a weekly basis.
In addition to providing food for local families, the food bank also strives to fill other needs, as well. In August they provided over 600 backpacks filled with school supplies for students of the Monroe School District, serving kids from the elementary school all the way up to the high school. Additionally, they work with children on free or reduced fee lunches at Frank Wagner Elementary School to provide take-home food for them on the weekends.
"We started the program three years ago with 13 kids; we went to 67 children last year, and this year we are just short of 100 children that we give weekend food to each and every weekend that school is in session,GÇ¥ said Watkins.
The food bank also works to provide for families during the holiday season, so that young children are able to receive toys during the Christmas holiday.
"Last year over 650 children received toys from the food bank along with the holiday food that we gave their families,GÇ¥ said Watkins.
They also provide holiday stockings for each child, which is a long-standing tradition that was started by Monroe resident Diane Wilton, who passed away in 2012. Wilton would spend months purchasing toys, candy and other small gifts, and then would host "stuffing parties,GÇ¥ after which she would come to the food bank to hand out the stockings in person.
"Diane Wilton was an angel,GÇ¥ said Watkins. "She passed away a couple of years ago and her husband took over the tradition.GÇ¥
The food bank also provides food and snacks for the Monroe Cold Weather Shelter, snacks for the YMCA's after-school kids' program and food for the Monroe women's shelter.
Watkins also talked about the community garden which is located right next to the food bank and the Monroe Boys and Girls Club, sharing that, in the last two summers, the garden has yielded nearly 7,000 pounds of fresh produce.
The Julia V. Morris Centennial Garden was created in 1999 by a 14-year old Boy Scout named Heath Hilton, who was interested in completing a community service project to obtain his Eagle Scout rank. His multi-faceted vision included developing a garden which could receive support from seniors at the East County Senior Center and kids from the nearby Monroe Boys and Girls Club, and would be able to serve the community by providing food to the Sky Valley Food Bank.
Eagle Scout projects offer Boy Scouts the opportunity to practice leadership as they manage all aspects of a project from start to finish. Working collaboratively with the Monroe Garden Club, Hilton planned the entire garden and raised $3,000 to go towards construction materials, which was matched by the city of Monroe.
The garden was named in honor of Julia V. Morris, who passed away in 1999. It was Morris who started the Sky Valley Food Bank, which began to take shape in 1976. After several temporary locations, a permanent structure was built to house the food bank in 1987.
The garden provides the Sky Valley Food Bank with the much-needed produce that can often be difficult for food banks to obtain. In their 2014 report, the JVM garden boasted a total yield of over 3,060 pounds of food grown including green beans, beets, tomatoes, carrots, summer squash, cabbage and much more. A total of 44 volunteers helped throughout the 2014 gardening season, providing a total of 866 volunteer hours.
The Sky Valley Food Bank has a work force that is 100 percent made up of volunteers. Currently, there are a total of 61 volunteers including drivers, distribution line workers, intake organizers, office administrators and more. The volunteers typically work from about 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. during the week, and on any given day there are approximately 30 volunteers who report for duty.
Watkins shared that the average age of a Sky Valley Food Bank volunteer is 70.
"It's amazing what folks can do,GÇ¥ said Watkins. "There's no pay; their pay is to make sure people get fed.GÇ¥
"It's very gratifying to work with these folks,GÇ¥ he continued. "We're a big family and I just love it.GÇ¥
The food bank has four trucks which spend seven days a week traveling to grocery stores and other places to pick up food donations.
Watkins shared that the food bank has seen a large increase in the number of families who need support. He explained that there is a direct correlation between the number of "working poorGÇ¥ families and the increased need for support services like food banks. Individuals making minimum wage simply do not earn enough money to be able to provide for their families.
"As that segment of the population has grown, the number of people coming into the food bank has grown right along with it,GÇ¥ said Watkins.
He explained that, between January and October, the food bank distributed 638,000 pounds of food, while only receiving around 554,000 pounds of food in donations. This creates a significant shortfall that must be made up by the food bank somehow.
"That's a lot of food to purchase, but that's what we have to do,GÇ¥ said Watkins. "Especially in terms of protein and the more nutritious items.GÇ¥
Food banks often struggle with obtaining meats and fresh fruits and vegetables. While bread and desert items are often prolific when it comes to donations, fresh and nutritional food items are more difficult to come by. This is a challenge faced by all food banks.
Watkins informed council that he would like to return sometime in February to discuss coordinating a city-wide food drive that could take place in March, in order to help the food bank get through their slow time of year.
"That's a time when our supplies go really low,GÇ¥ said Watkins. "That's a time when we really, really need the help.GÇ¥
The Sky Valley Food Bank is located at 233 Sky River Parkway in Monroe. For more information on the food bank, please visit the website at: http://www.svfoodbank.org/.
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