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Mom lives in the big city, but the
senior communities are all high-rises
and the city is so noisy. She needs good
medical services, but driving through
traffic to her appointments takes a lot of
time. What should we do?
Food banks
Continued from page A-1
as reported by federal ana-
lysts last week, and unem-
ployment remains stub-
bornly high, families in
Mason County Continue to
struggle to make ends meet.
The number of people
receiving help from food
banks is intensifying lo-
cally, and more community
groups, from North Mason
to the Agate area, are rising
to meet the growing need.
At the same time, howev-
er, some of those same food
distributors are compet-
ing amongst themselves to
give out food -- with some
arguing that there isn't
enough money in the pot to
go around and others advo-
cating for a better way to
spread resources.
In the last few months
Saint's Pantry has seen an
even higher increase in de-
mand, going from 140 cus-
tomers each day to 170 or
more.
While demand has in-
creased almost exponen-
tially, the food bank has
survived on donations from
the community and organi-
zations like Northwest Har-
vest, which uses state mon-
ey to supply food to three
local food banks.
Food banks also receive
assistance in the form of
the federally funded TEFAP
(The Emergency Food As-
sistance Program) and the
state-run EFAP (Emer-
gency Food Assistance Pro-
gram), which both provide
food banks with money to
make purchases and cover
expenses.
In Mason County, the
only recipients of EFAP
monies are the four ma-
jor food banks -- Saint's
Pantry in Shelton, North
Mason Food Bank, Hood
Canal Food Bank and Mat-
lock Food Bank -- who as
a whole determine how
the money is split between
them.
In Matlock, most of the
food bank clients are the el-
derly or disabled, for whom
Sodai Security is no-longer
enough to. pay tim, grocery
and gas-bills, said Matlock
Food Bank Director Ern
Brown.
"It's a pretty poor area
with a lot of disabled people
and senior citizens," he said.
Between 60 and 90 fami-
lies go to the Matieck Food
Bank every week, up from
45 or ,50 before the reces-
sion. The food bank receives
community donations on top
of state and federal dona-
tions, including the govern-
ment commodities program.
"They give us canned
goods, like canned corn,
peas, green beans, canned
fruit, a lot of different kinds
of juices, counter storage
milk," he said. "That's dif-
ferent than the regular food
bank."
Another organization,
Cove City Outreach, han-
dles TEFAP donations in
Shelton.
TEFAP recipients have
to qualify for the program
through income restrictions.
Hood Canal Food Bank
receives steady donations
and long-standing commu-
nity support.
The food bank serves be-
tween 450 to 500 people per
month, slightly higher than
this time last year.
Executive Director Kathy
Roberson, who is the only
salaried employee at the
bank, receives about $1,000
per month.
In the last year, the
amount of volunteers at the
Hood Canal Food Bank has
increased to meet the grow-
ing need -- about 63 volun-
teers organize the bank.
"We've gotten about 15
more volunteers," Roberson
said. "We've got more people
coming in for services, too."
To cope with the increas-
ing food demands in Mason
County, small, independent
food banks are cropping up
all over, including the Pio-
neer Food Bank, started by
former AmeriCorps worker
Tara Rigby.
On May 20, the Pioneer
Food Bank's most success-
ful distribution day since it
opened early this year, 18
families totaling 95 people
showed up.
"That whole area, which
includes Shorecrest, Tim-
berlakes, Lake Limer-
ick, Harstine Island up to
Grapeview, we're isolated
geographically from all the
services here in Shelton by
at least 20 minutes," Rigby
said. "If you're out on the
south end of the island it's
35 minutes."
Sam Lachle and his
granddaughter Madison
Downey were among both
the recipients and volun-
teers on Pioneer's most re-
cent distribution day, July
21.~ .... : .....
.,.,,"I've never be~n: big on
volunteering .... aver the
yemrs you realize there is a
need," he said. "I figured I
was taking some, so I'd help
some."
The Pioneer Food Bank
may be small now, but the
food bank plans to apply
for help from Northwest
Harvest and TEFAP gov-
ernment commodities, and
other groups, like Cove City
Outreach and the North
Mason County Resource
Center, have looked into ap-
plying for EFAP money.
As more food banks
emerge and ask for these
monies, however, the overall
food bank money pie doesn't
get bigger, said Brown of
the Matlock Food Bank.
"There's only a certain
amount of money allotted to
each county," Brown said.
Last April, representa-
tives from the four major
food banks convened in
Shelten for the biennium
EFAP application meeting.
When other groups in-
quired as to how to seek
those funds, they were met
with staunch resistance.
Tom Armstrong, direc-
tor of North Mason County
Resource -- which has been
in operation since the end
of April 2010 and offers ser-
vices in North Mason, in-
cluding food, food vouchers
"and a mobile food delivery
service -- sought approval
from the four food banks to
enter the non-profit in the
rtthning for EFAP money.
Armstrong said the non-
profit serves food to about
40 to 50 people each week.
"From the very begin-
ning, we've been helping
people with food," Arm-
strong later said. "We ap-
preciate everything the food
banks are doing, we're just
trying to make sure all of
the community is taken care
of."
At the April meeting, a
20-minute long "quick, live-
ly and contrary group dis-
cussion occurred," according
to the meeting minutes put
together by the Community
Action Council of Lewis,
Mason and Thurston (CAC-
LMT) counties, which dis-
tributes EFAP money in the
, area.
All four food banks reject-
ed the resource center on
the grounds that the non:
profit provided a "duplica-
tion of services" and was not
"uniquely significant."
Following the decision,
CAC-LMT asked the re-
source center for informa-
tion, like food invoices,
proving that it had been in
operation as a food bank for
at least one year.
"[We] tried to determine
if the provider met some of
the base requirements to
be considered a food bank,"
wrote John Walsh, CEO of
CAC-LMT, in an e-mail.
"Our research indicated
that it did not."
According to the state
Department of Commerce,
which regulates EFAP
funding, the definition of a
food bank is "an emergency
food assistance program
that distributes unprepared
food without charge to its
clients, is open a fixed num-
ber of hours and days each
week or month, and such
hours and days are publicly
posted."
To meet the criteria for
EFAP funding, a food bank
must be active for at least
one year and be a public
agency, tribe or 501(c) 3
non-profit.
The resource center ap-
pealed the decision to an
independent hearings ex-
aminer and also asked for
state review, but both times
the posi.tion taken by the
four major food banks was
upheld.
Other food banks say
groups that want to take
a share of EFAP funding
should work more closely
together with the existing
food distributors.
"There shouldn't be any
overlap [of services]," said
Roberson of Hood Canal
Food Bank. "We really can't
get involved in the argu-
ment, but there are ways to
come in and ask for money
without an attitude."
The resource center isn't
the only group in North Ma-
son that has emerged in the
last year to offer food sup-
port.to local residents-- the
North Mason Coalition-of
Churches and Community
packs food for low-income
school children on the week-
ends and other groups have
started canning and glean-
ing projects.
Some say the efforts
help folks who are unable
to reach the North Mason
Food Bank, which is open
for limited hours.
In 2009, less than four
percent of the North Mason
Food Bank's income went
toward food purchases, ac-
cording to a 2010 audit re-
port conducted by Alfred J.
Dubbe in South Colby.
Representatives from the
North Mason Food Bank de-
clined to comment for this
story.
Northwest Harvest no
longer donates food to the
North Mason Food Bank
but instead has shifted its
support to the House of
Prayer food bank, located in
downtown Belfair.
The House of .Prayer
Ministries does not receive
federal or state monies to
supply food.
"That's the thing, who
determines what is an offi-
cial food bank?" Armstrong
of North Mason County Re-
source asked. "The House of
Prayer, they've been there
for more than a year."
Russell from Saint's Pan-
try said an increase in food
banks could lead to abuse of
the food bank system.
"It presents a problem
sometimes of getting food
to the right people," he said.
"We don't want to deny any-
body food but we don't want
somebody coming here, go-
ing to" Matlock and then
maybe going up to Hood-
sport to triple dip."
One volunteer at Saint's
Pantry recalled seeing food
bank supplies on sale at a
yard sale, and Keen said
that abusing, assistance is
becoming more common in
the area.
"I hear about people sell-
ing their food stamps," Keen
said. "It's horrible because
there's a lot of people who
have a sense of entitlement
- this is a gift."
Move Mom to Alpine
Way, in Shelton, It's located just
a couple blocks away from highly
rated Mason General Hospital,
and several specialized clinics
are also nearby. Shdton has
wonderful small-town charm, and
is friendly in a Norman Rockwell
kind of way. You'll be happy with
the atmosphere at Alpine Way, too. Our friendly family of residents and
helpful, professional staffsure beats the big city crowd. From Music in
the Park to Oysterfest, there are wonderful things going on in a beautiful
setting near Hood Canal.
If you're ready to help Mom find a new home, come and tour Alpine Way.
We'd love to treat you to lunch, show you our lovely apartments, and
answer all your questions.
Call Kathy Burbidge at
(360) 426-2600
for a free lunch and tour
900 West Alpine Way
Shelton, WA 98584
8
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THANK YOU
FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE ...............
LIFESTYLE
CHANGES*
in the next 5 years:
• 52% of the people
interviewed said
they will consider
each purchase more
carefully
• 29% said they will
be more price
conscious when
buying clothes or
food
* 47% say they will
stick to a budget--S--
*bigresearch.com 9/09
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Shelton-Mason County Journal -Thursday, August 4, 2011 - Page A-3