Pop Up Food Banks Help Everett Residents Where They Are

March 28, 2017

Everett

pop up food bank

There’s a pop up food bank here every Tuesday from 3-5

Attended a meeting of the Casino Road Stakeholders this afternoon at the Bible Baptist Church. While there I noticed a food bank and found out that every Tuesday from 3 – 5 PM the Volunteers of America operates what they call a pop up food bank to serve families who may not be able to travel down to north Broadway.

Other social service providers are also being encouraged to team up with Volunteers of America to help people with services.

Here’s more info.

SOUTH EVERETT FOOD PANTRY AT BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH

There’s also another pop up food bank that serves downtown Everett every Monday…

WETMORE AVE POP UP FOOD PANTRY

After we first wrote about the pop up food banks VOA provided us with more information…

The Everett area is home to over 105,000 people living in 19 neighborhoods of the city. As the population continues to grow, the demand for food bank services continues. 1 in 7 adults in WA report that they are food insecure (they don’t know where their next meal is coming from). We have learned from our clients that transportation is one of the major barriers to accessing food resources. Our new Pop-Up Model will help reduce barriers for people accessing food. Our goal is to make our food bank services easier for our community members to access. Instead of having a single food bank location, we want to offer a variety of sites, days, and times which you can access food should you need it. Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about our services.

1. What is your new Pop-Up Model?
In our new model, VOA partners with community organizations to use their space to set up a temporary food bank each week. We bring a variety of foods (including fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy, frozen meat, bread, pastries, and canned goods) from our warehouse to the site and allow clients to shop for their groceries. When the food bank is over, we take everything back to our warehouse.

2. What are the benefits of this model?

• Easy access for clients
• Ample parking and easy access to bus lines
• Clients can shop twice a month
• Local community is engaged and additional community resources are provided
• Meets the needs of the changing demographics of Everett
• Cost effective model reduces overhead

3. Where will you open new locations?

We are taking a data driven approach to opening new locations. We are using internal client data and mapping tools to find where low income and low vehicle access areas are in the city of Everett. This research will help us identify areas in the most need and where to open new locations. We also welcome community members to reach out to us if they would like to host a pop-up site.

4. Will these new locations be permanent?
Yes, once we have established a partnership for a new location that service will be provided on an on-going basis at the same day and time.

5. What is the timeline for opening new locations?

Over the course of the next 1-2 years, we will be working to open new food bank sites in other neighborhoods.

6. Will food bank services still be offered at VOA Everett Food Bank (1230 Broadway)?

As we open new locations, VOA’s current Everett Food Bank services at 1230 Broadway will be reduced as we focus on the new locations. This will be a 1-2 year process.

7. What is a Distribution Center?
A Distribution Center means an institution that collects, warehouses and distributes food, edible commodities or other product to food banks, meal programs and other hunger relief agencies on a regional, county, or statewide basis. Volunteers of America operates the Distribution Center in Snohomish County and it is located at 1230 Broadway, Everett.

8. Will the Snohomish County Food Distribution Center remain located at 1230 Broadway?

The Snohomish County Food Distribution Center is a warehouse that distributes food to 21 food banks and 18 meal programs in Snohomish County. This operation will remain at 1230 Broadway. However, we are beginning the planning process of relocating this warehouse to a site that is more functional for its needs. This will be a 2-3 year process.

9. Where and when can I drop off food donations?

Food donations can be accepted at any of our food bank locations during the hours of operation. They can also be accepted at our VOA food storage warehouse/Snohomish County Food Distribution Center at 1230 Broadway, Monday – Friday from 8am-4pm. Large food donations (large food drives) should be donated to our 1230 Broadway site.

10. How does someone in need of food access one of VOA’s food banks?
We serve: Anyone living in the service zip codes (see below)

What to bring: ID and current piece of mail (within 30 days), bags or boxes for carrying groceries

Where to go: Clients can choose the food bank that is most convenient for them based on zip codes. We ask that clients choose a primary food bank.

11. Can I use more than one VOA food bank?

We ask that you choose a primary food bank to use regularly. Client lists at each site will be compared to avoid duplication of service.

VOA pop up food

Click on schedule to enlarge


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My Everett News is a hyperlocal news website featuring news and events in Everett, Washington. We also cover City of Everett information and items of interest to those who live and work in Everett.

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