Merry Christmas at Southeast FISH

It's looking a lot like Christmas at SE FISH this week. Santa has been holding court, greeting clients and volunteers alike with hugs and hearty ho-ho-hos. Parents are receiving bags of candy for the little ones at home, and kids who come to the food bank are receiving candy and toys from the big guy himself.



While most of the kids were surprised and excited to see Santa, some wanted to talk. One serious young fellow, clutching his new game, asked, "what's the hardest part of your job?" He nodded soberly when Santa told him it was when the littlest kids get scared, agreeing, "yeah, I guess that would be hard."

But the overall mood is very festive, with Christmas decorations throughout the food bank and volunteers wearing their holiday best.

Below, volunteer Marina takes advantage of a momentary lull to pose with Santa:



Five-year-old Shalisa appointed herself Santa's helper while she waited for her mom to finish shopping. She was excited to receive a new learning game and a bag of candy from Santa.

Making birthdays happy!

Production line workers at Tacoma's Birds Eye Foods held a birthday drive for FISH Food Banks as part of their company's United Way campaign. Each worker was challenged to bring in one birthday party item - cake mix, frosting, candles, birthday plates and cups, party hats and more. The workers would have a party of their own if they reached their goal of 160 items. They had plenty of cause to celebrate when the final count came in at over 500 birthday items! The party supplies will be used by the food banks to offer a "birthday in a box" package to client families. What a great way to provide a birthday celebration to kids and a little relief to families struggling just to make ends meet!

Special thanks go to all of the workers who contributed, to Birds Eye staff Andee Handeland, Cathy Kilgore and Georgiana Marzano, and to United Way Loaned Executive Mark Kawabata.

FISH will offer nutrition classes

Southeast FISH will host a series of nutrition classes in the next two weeks as part of a pilot program with the newly established Connection Center at the food bank. The sessions will offer meal planning, recipes, food demos and more. Families will have the opportunity to participate in the classes from 9:30-10:30 a.m. while they wait their turn to go through the food bank. A ticket system will ensure that no one loses their place in line.

Here's the initial schedule:

Monday, 11/23/09
Family Meals - Easy, Tasty, and Healthy!
Discuss how to plan, shop, and prepare healthy, low-cost meals for the family and learn ways to let our children help. We will discuss the difficulties and some ideas on how to make meals low-cost.

Wednesday, 11/25/09
How Much? Food and Physical Activity
A healthy lifestyle means paying attention to what we eat and how physically active we are each day. We will discuss the kinds and amounts of foods that our family needs.

Monday, 11/30/09
Vegetables and Fruits - Simple Solutions
Talk about ways to include the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables in our daily meal plans and learn ways to encourage our children to eat fruits and vegetables.

Wednesday, 12/02/09
Family Time - Active and Fun
Discuss why being physically active is important and the challenges to being active every day. Learn how to be more physically active and begin to make healthy choices for meals and snacks.

Additional classes will be scheduled at Northwest FISH and Edgewood. Watch this space for dates and times.

Number of hungry Americans continues to climb

A new USDA report says that more Americans than ever are facing food insecurity. In 2008, some 49 million people, or 14.6 percent of U.S. households, struggled to put enough food on the table to support a healthy lifestyle. The numbers represent a significant increase over 2007, when food insecurity affected 11.1 percent of households. Find the NY Times coverage of the report here, and the USDA press release here.

Half of US kids will get food stamps, study says

A new study based on 30 years of data says that nearly half of US children will be on food stamps at some point in their childhood, more evidence that belies common stereotypes of those who need food assistance.
The Associated Press: Half of US kids will get food stamps

All the necessities ...

Families who come to our food banks for help need more than food. While food is the most essential need, it's easy to overlook other necessities we take for granted, like personal hygiene items. News Tribune columnist Kathleen Merryman spotlighted a group of eager volunteers from Good Samaritan Behavioral Health who have started a Toilet Paper Club to supply the Graham-South Hill FISH with rolls of TP for their clients. Read all about it ... and think about starting a Toilet Paper Club for your local food bank!

Save a date for Santa

Before your holiday plans get firmed up, make a place on your calendar for the first ever Santa Runs Tacoma 5K Run & Walk, to be held on Saturday, Dec. 19 on the Tacoma Waterfront. Check-in and registration begins at 7:00 a.m. at The Dock, 535 Dock St. in Tacoma; events begin at 9:00 a.m. Participants are being asked to bring non-perishable foods for FISH. The day promises to be fun for everyone, with Tiny Tim's 1K Kids' Run, Frosty's 5K Run and Walk, and The Grinch 10K Relay. Register online at the Santa Runs website.

Two tons of food!

Word just came in that the amazing folks at Temple Beth El (see below) collected a whopping 4,417 pounds of food in their annual food drive! Many, many thanks from all of us at FISH and from the clients of the Jackson St. FISH Food Bank who will benefit from this generous donation.

Temple Beth El food drive benefits Jackson St. FISH

Each year, during the Days of Awe between the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, families from Tacoma's Temple Beth El collect food for the Jackson St. FISH Food Bank.

To liven up this year's food drive, Temple board president Lisa Sobel issued a challenge: she would donate non-perishable milk products to accompany all the cereal donated. The result created a unique monument in the Temple rotunda, built of cereal boxes!


The youth groups from Temple Beth El and St. Andrew's Episcopal Church gathered together to sort all the food and load it into the FISH van for transport to Jackson St. FISH, which is housed at St. Andrew's.






















Thanks to all the contributors and volunteers who gave so generously, especially coordinators Herman and Barbara Kleiner of Temple Beth El.

Food banks see increased demand

Pierce County food banks continue to see increased need for services. Read all about it in Thursday's News Tribune commentary by FISH executive director Beth Elliott and St. Leo Food Connection Executive Director Kevin Glackin-Coley. Beth and Kevin are co-chairs of the Pierce County Food Coalition. Remember that you can help by participating in the annual Pierce County Hunger Walk, next Saturday, Oct. 10. You can designate 50% of the funds you raise to the hunger agency of your choice, including FISH Food Banks. See you there!

TNT highlights Connection Center at Edgewood FISH

News Tribune columnist Kathleen Merryman recently paid a visit to the Mountain View Community Center / Edgewood FISH. Her column on Monday, Sept. 28 spotlighted the new Connection Center partnership between FISH Food Banks and South Sound Outreach, providing social services support for food bank clients. Five connection centers are planned, with the next scheduled to open in Graham and in Southeast Tacoma. Read all about it here and watch this space for opening dates.

Can't decide what to make for dinner? Click and cook!

In our fast-paced society and busy lives, who has time to cook? We've gotten so used to fast foods and microwavable meals that many of us never even learn basic cooking skills. But one of the best ways to stretch a limited food budget is to cook at home. It's also a great way to eat healthier.

In our food banks we try to offer our clients suggestions for how to make use of the foods that we provide, so we're always on the lookout for healthy, frugal recipes. Sometimes we'll get a donation of food or produce that's a bit out of the ordinary, and clients may not know how to cook the item. We're always happy when we can provide them with ideas.

In our ongoing recipe search, we recently found a great resource, courtesy of the Greater Boston Food Bank. The folks at GBFB have created a searchable database, called ClicknCook^SM, that will help you find recipes to use whatever ingredients you have on hand. Just scroll down the list, clicking on the foods you want to use, and then hit the "Submit" button. Presto! - you get a list of recipes for those foods, complete with nutritional information. You can save any recipe as a pdf for viewing or printing. Check it out and let us know what you think. (And thanks to GBFB for allowing us to share this great resource!)

Coming to the end of a busy summer

It's been a very busy summer, with all of our food banks seeing increased need. This past July was up 51% over July 2008!

An exciting new development is our partnership with Rotacare of Tacoma, who will open a chronic health clinic at Southeast FISH within the next few weeks. Read all about it in Kathleen Merryman's TNT column.

The art of food

At last Saturday's Proctor Farmers Market, a dozen artists -- members of the Proctor Art Gallery and others -- set up their easels and drawing boards to provide a demonstration of art in action. Donations and pledges received at the various artist booths will go to purchase fresh produce for the Northwest FISH Food Bank, which is located at Mason United Methodist Church, adjacent to the Market. In watercolors, oils, pencil, collage, and even wood, the artists created food- and market-themed works to the delight of the watching shoppers. So far the Art-a-Thon has raised more than $1200 in donations and pledges. Donations are still being accepted online and at the Proctor Art Gallery, located at 3811 N. 26th in Tacoma.

Below: At the Market, artist Brad Stave demonstrates his wood-turning technique in crafting a wooden spice jar.














At right: Proctor Art Gallery owner Carolyn Burt displays her painting technique. One of her finished images of the market is on the easel behind her.

Below: Painter Mary Mann sported a "Make Art, Not War" t-shirt as she worked on a still life of fresh Market produce.











Thanks so much to the Proctor Farmers Market, the Proctor Art Gallery, and all the wonderful participating artists who contributed their time and talent to make the Art-a-Thon such a success. Their efforts will make it possible for the families who come to Northwest FISH to have fresh, healthy produce as part of a nutritious diet.

Ensuring a safe food supply

Almost every week, it seems, the news media report another food product recall or an outbreak of food-borne illness. Here at FISH, as we work to provide nutritious food for all of our clients, we are also committed to keeping our food supply as safe as possible.

In March, President Obama established a Food Safety Working Group (FSWG), chaired by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture, to coordinate Federal efforts and advise the administration on upgrading the national food safety system.

Just yesterday, the group announced its initial findings at a press conference headed by Vice President Biden. FSWG recommends three core principles:

• prioritizing prevention
  
• strengthening surveillance and enforcement
• improving response and recovery.

Read more about FSWG and its findings here.

Come to the "Art-a-Thon" and help Mason FISH

Support the arts and feed the hungry - all at the same time! Come to the Proctor Farmers' Market on Saturday, July 25 from 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. for the first-ever "Art-a-Thon." Artists from the Proctor Art Gallery will be creating all day at the market in support of the FISH Mason Food Bank. You can make a pledge for your favorite artist or make a donation. Proceeds will allow the food bank to purchase fresh produce for distribution. For more information, please contact Carolyn Burt at 253-759-4238 or email info@betterproperties.com.

Thanks to DSHS staff

Vicky McLaurin, FISH board member and Community Relations Manager for DSHS CSD Region 5, reports that the staff of the Pierce South CSO raised $269.98 in a Penny Drive to benefit Southeast FISH. CSO staff were responding to the news that Southeast FISH served 13,117 individuals in April, a 57% increase over the same time last year.

We can provide $4 worth of food for every dollar donated, so the generous folks at Pierce South CSO have provided nearly $1100 worth of food. Thanks so much to all those who participated, to Maren Yeager for organizing the Penny Drive, and to Vicky for letting us know about it!

The FISH play for FISH

Westminster Presbyterian Church rocked last night with the sounds of Maurice the Fish recording artists who teamed up for "Will Play for Food," the second annual benefit concert for SE FISH.

Many, many, many thanks to organizer Raymond Hayden, to all the artists and to the attendees who collectively raised $1700 for SE FISH, more than doubling last year's total.

Pastor Heather James of Westminster Pres opened the show with a welcome, then turned the mic over to emcee Cliff Lenderman.

The first act was singer/songwriter Heidi Vladyka.

Members of Seven Mile Ride backed singer/songwriter Valerie Dillon before performing their own set.























Thanks again to all to helped to support Southeast FISH through last night's event. Learn more about all of the evening's artists at at Maurice the Fish Records.

Welcome to our new blog!

Welcome to FISH Wrap, your source for all that's news at FISH Food Banks! Watch this space for news, event announcements, volunteer opportunities, recipes, money-saving tips and more.

It's no news that the need for food assistance has never been greater. We've been feeding Pierce County residents in need since 1973, and we've never seen such demand at our seven food bank sites. Since the beginning of the year, our client totals have increased by 40 percent.

With such an increase in need, and so many new clients, we are constantly looking for ways to be even more responsive. If you can help, consider making a donation of time, money or food. If you need help, see our list of food bank locations. If you’re a new client, here are some simple things you should know.

We want to hear from you - what would you like to see in FISH Wrap? Email us!