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!