“We can’t food bank our way out of poverty” is a quote I came by some time ago and I believe it’s correct, though not every food bank employee or volunteer agrees with that statement. It doesn’t mean we aren’t essential. Sadly, food banks meet a critical need for far too many food-insecure households. We can help with one of the symptoms of poverty—hunger—for the day or week of a client’s visit, but we are unlikely to help that household move out of poverty. Ending poverty will be a very long journey that will involve all sectors of society, and will require massive change to many systems.
At our food bank, we are continuing to learn more about the root causes of hunger and poverty. While doing this work, we want to see how we can impact these sources and become educators about both causes and helpful interventions. We are paying increased attention to issues of housing, healthcare, childcare, and race. While there are many tools to help reduce poverty, there are multiple larger barriers in place that keep people from exiting poverty in a lasting way.
Recently, I’ve been particularly excited about
Washington’s Paid-Family Leave Law
which became available to employees at the start of 2020. Essentially it will provide up to 16 weeks of leave for those wanting to take time off to care for a new infant or other family member in need. Employees will receive up to 90% of their wage or up to $1,000 per week.
Food Insecurity is about more than food; it’s about being able to afford all of one’s basic needs. The more we work toward an equitable society, the less people will rely on food banks. BFB began offering paid parental leave a few years ago and we are proud to have done so. Sure it costs money, but it is also the right thing to do and mirrors what many other countries do. We also pay all of our employees what is considered a living wage in Whatcom County. Being a good employer is one major way we work toward ending poverty and giving people access to the basics. I believe access to food, housing, healthcare, and education are rights that should be available to all—not just the privileged.
Paid family leave is not specifically about hunger or food banking, but it is one of many interventions that can help keep people from needing a food bank. What policies, programs, or initiatives have you seen that can help reduce or move people from poverty? If this sort of stuff excites you, sign up on our website to join our
Advocacy Team
to stay in touch and involved with policies that impact hunger and poverty.
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Mike Cohen
,
Executive Director
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Show Up! Speak Up! Community Building at BFB
Monday, February 10 | 3:30-5:00 PM
We invite anyone who is invested in our food bank to join us for a series of community discussions about topics that affect our clients the most. Topics will be generated by our Client Advisory Board and brought to the public throughout the year.
Speak Up about:
Food Access & Social Justice in Bellingham
Catering by Haggen Market Street Catering
No RSVP required
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Food For Thought: Hunger Relief in Whatcom County
Tuesday, March 3 | 5:00-6:30 PM @ Bellingham Food Bank
Join us for an update from various partners in hunger relief in Whatcom County. They’ll discuss their facilities, new programming and innovative ways they are working to serve more people as need continues to grow.
Catering by Haggen Market Street Catering
RSVP to this free education event at
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BFB’s coordination of the Whatcom Veggie Rx pilot will wrap up in May, and preliminary reports from our healthcare partners show that there is a lot to celebrate!
The 15-month pilot brought together Unity Care NW, Sea Mar Bellingham Medical Center, PeaceHealth Medical Group, The Community Health Plan of Washington, and The Community Food Co-op to demonstrate the importance of hunger in public health. All 180 patient participants have uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes and reported food insecurity. 12 months into the project, healthy eating classes and a $40 monthly produce voucher are having a big impact. A large number of patients have experienced a drop in their long-term blood sugar levels just in that time period!
More formal evaluation of the pilot will begin in March, led by researchers at the UW School of Public Health. We didn’t set out to prove that produce buying power conclusively lowers an individual’s long-term blood sugar level, as others across the country have already taken up that torch. There is already significant evidence that this kind of program helps those with nutrition-related chronic disease to improve their health.
What we did set out to do with Whatcom Veggie Rx was bring together influential leaders in local healthcare to build systems and partnerships to develop ways to support healthy diets and hunger from the start, so that healthcare isn’t limited to just addressing the symptoms of poor nutrition.
While BFB’s sponsorship will conclude, partners will find ways to build on the project’s foundations. Unity Care NW is raising local dollars to continue and expand the produce prescription for their patients into 2020. They hope to serve around 100 patients, continuing with the $40 monthly benefit, complementary nutrition classes, and the valued partnership with the Community Food Co-op.
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We have come to expect annual growth, but even we were surprised at the magnitude of 2019.
How Did We Grow?
We saw client visits increase by
21%
over 2018, due in part to our practice to invite two weekly visits per household instead of one.
We established five new Summer distribution sites that saw a combined
2,645
client visits.
We sponsored the inaugural year of Whatcom Veggie Rx that infused
$50,718
into our economy through Type 2 Diabetes patients purchasing fruits and vegetables locally.
And we welcomed
3,379
families who had never visited our food bank before 2019.
THANK YOU for being a part of our vital work!
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Every three years, the BFB Board of Directors creates a strategic plan for the organization. 2020 is Year 2 of our current strategic plan and lays out many exciting growth goals. Here are a few of those developments to look for as the year progresses.
1. We will add
another truck
to our fleet of vehicles. This will allow us to
increase our satellite food bank sites
and reach more families who experience chronic hunger across our county.
2. We are preparing to write our organizational equity lens that will impact HR practices, food purchasing and client access to become more equitable and antiracist.
3. We are better involving community members with our growth through
more events and speaking engagements
. We will also more deliberately invite
elected officials
to better get to know us and our vital role in the community.
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