Supplemental Food When You Need It

A quick look at the data from the first quarter of 2025 makes one thing crystal clear. The people who reach out to the Ocean Shores Food Bank for help putting nutritious food on the family table only visit the food bank when they need to.

Between January and March of this year, there were thirteen regular Thursday distributions, and a total of 669 distinct households in our community visited the food bank. Of that total, 453, or nearly 68 percent, came fewer than half of the time. And 182 households, over 27 percent, only came once.

Visiting a food bank can be hard. Emotional. But who among us doesn’t need help occasionally? When our guests arrive at the Ocean Shores Food Bank, they know that they will be warmly welcomed. It is our hope that everyone who visits leaves not only with the food they need but also with a smile on their face. Our job as a food bank and as a community is to be there for one another. To take the hand of those who reach out. To live out our mission of helping to ensure that no one in our community goes hungry.

Save the Date!

Sixth Annual Plant Sale Coming in May

The Ocean Shores Food Bank is happy to announce that its 6th Annual Plant Sale will be held on Saturday, May 3rd, from 9 am to 3 pm. All proceeds will benefit the food bank, enabling it to continue its mission of ensuring that no one in the community goes hungry.

As with other food banks, both local and nationwide, demand for food assistance is growing while food and monetary donations are dwindling, so this annual fundraiser takes on even more importance than in previous years.

Whether searching for just the right gift for Mother’s Day or looking for the right plant to enhance your landscape, you should be able to find what you’re looking for at the OSFB Plant Sale. A wide variety of lush hanging baskets, impressive large color pots, houseplants, and deer-resistant starter plants will be available. Also on offer will be many different vegetable starts to provide food for your table and flower starts that can easily be transplanted in just the right space to brighten your home.

We will also be joined at the plant sale by the WSU Extension Master Gardeners of Grays Harbor/Pacific Counties, who will host a plant clinic from 10:00 to 1:00. If you have questions about your plants, these are the experts you will want to talk with!

Volunteers have also been collecting garden and plant-related items and yard art, growing seedlings and succulents in preparation for this event, so come and see what is on display for shoppers.

We invite you to help your community while finding just the right plant. Enjoy spring by adding a plant that provides something for you and something for others through the food bank.

The 6th Annual OSFB Plant Sale will be located outside of Ocean Sunset Pharmacy at 121 E. Chance a La Mer in Ocean Shores.

The Ocean Shores Food Bank is an all-volunteer organization, and we are always looking for more people to join us as we work to ensure that no one in our community goes hungry. There are many jobs available, from helping at our Thursday food bank distributions to stocking shelves at our Tuesday morning work groups to unloading truck deliveries and picking up groceries from local grocery stores.

Volunteering at the food bank is fun. You’ll meet new people and, most importantly, you will help put food on local tables. For more information, contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Kathy Baker, at nwkate91@gmail.com.

Spring Fling

Style Show

The annual Spring Fling Style Show will be held on May 4, 2025, at the Door Mouse Boutique (759 Point Brown Ave NW in Ocean Shores). Tickets are $20, and proceeds benefit the Ocean Shores Food Bank. Tickets must be purchased prior to the event and are available by visiting the Door Mouse or calling them at (209) 606-4239.

One of our guests told the two volunteers at the pre-registration desk how kind and welcoming our food bank is. Upon hearing this, two other guests behind her chimed in, expressing the same sentiment. All three sat down with big smiles on their faces.

And hearing this puts a smile on all of our faces.

March by the Numbers

Total households served: 931

Total household members: 2,055

New families: 20

Kids' books distributed: 91

Number of volunteer hours logged: 1,005

Give a Child the Gift of Reading

Help us put a smile on the face of a child who owns a book for the first time. Share the thanks of a grandparent giving a book to their visiting grandchild. Know the gratitude of a single parent able to read with her child at bedtime. Our Books for Kids Program develops the love of reading.

Each month, the food bank distributes approximately 100 free books for young people. Books are displayed for browsing on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month. Board books, picture books, easy readers, and chapter books reach children from birth to young adult.

Reading, as well as being read to, enhances a child’s language development, cognitive abilities, and imagination for future success in life. Reading provides hours of entertainment. Plus, it is just plain fun.

All our books are either donated or purchased out of a special book fund. OSFB gratefully accepts new and gently used books. Seasonal, holiday, and activity book donations make the months special for our children. We also need bilingual and Spanish language books. 

Please bring books to the food bank on Thursdays or drop them in a food barrel around town.

If you wish to donate money, please designate those funds for books. If you have any questions, please email us at donations@oceanshoresfoodbank.org

Please consider giving a child the joy of reading.

A Gift from the Earth

and From the Heart

Spring is in the air, and for many of our neighbors, that means that their gardens are calling. It’s nearly time to plant. And as you plan this year’s garden, we’d like to plant a seed as well. The food bank is always in need of fresh herbs and vegetables. Perhaps you could plant a little extra this year to share with those who reach out to the food bank. A gift like that truly shows how much you care about those in our community who struggle to keep adequate, nutritious food on the family table. It’s a gift from the earth. A gift from the heart.