Seattle Food Banks Need our Support

On Friday night we attended the West Seattle Food Bank's Instruments of Change dinner at the invitation of our friends and table hosts Dawn and Jeremy.   The event was well attended as evidenced by the $14,000 raised in the dessert dash.  We pitched in to help our table buy a great dessert -- the Phoenix Cake prepared by Bakery Nouveau.  Caramel mousse.  Toffee.  Chocolate.  Pear.  Need I say more?


You like how the dessert gets first billing in my post?  Well, there were also some other nice things about the evening.  Speaker Robert V. Taylor talked about how to live a life with more meaning.  And a social worker shared how the West Seattle Food Bank makes a valuable difference each week in the lives of adults with mental illness.  The food bank also had a "funds for food" appeal where donors got to shake their tambourines and be "instruments of change."


While I don't know how much the evening raised, I hope it was a lot.  This organization deserves strong support.  One of the most memorable statistics that the board president shared was the fact that two years ago, the food bank budgeted about $40,000 per year to purchase additional food.  This money allows the food bank to offer a well-rounded choices to its clients -- rounding out the donated food with more dairy or protein or staples, or whatever is needed each week.  This year, that budget number is approximately $150,000.  The increase reflects the large number of people who rely on the food bank.

Other facts that impressed me:  In 2009, 1,759 senior citizens sought assistance at the West Seattle food bank-- a 71 percent increase over the year before.  In addition, the food bank delivers 150 bags of groceries to homebound elderly and disabled members of the West Seattle community each week.
 
This year, thanks to friends who sit on the boards of the West Seattle food bank and the University District food bank, I have become more aware of the important work these organizations do to improve the lives of people in my community.  Without organizations like these, thousands of people in Seattle would go hungry.

I'm proud to support organizations like these that help people who need assistance -- and that do so with compassion, and care.

Comments

  1. wow! that puts my little dessert dash to shame! very impressive. how many desserts were auctioned?

    ReplyDelete

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