Dancing the night away ...

Dancing to the beat of Daryl and the Diptones

FISH's first-ever Spring FriendRaiser was a rousing success, raising approximately $20,000 to further our work of feeding hungry people in Pierce County. The 400+ people gathered at Tacoma's Landmark Convention Center on Saturday evening mingled, munched and rocked out to the classic '60s and '70s music of Daryl and the Diptones, and a grand time was had by all. Congratulations and a big thank-you to FISH board members Barbara Reed and Marianne Hilton, who co-chaired the event.

We are especially grateful to Daryl and the Diptones and the Landmark Convention Center, whose generosity made this event possible.

Big thanks go to our major sponsors:

J.P. Work & Associates, Inc.
Olympic Eagle Distributing
Porter Brothers Construction
Schuur Bros. Inc.
Vaughn Bay Construction
Western Marine Construction

Thanks also to our table sponsors:
America’s Credit Union 
Bargreen-Ellingson
Clover Park Rotary
Exchange Club
Gray Lumber
Heritage Bank
Pierce County Health Care Providers
Willis Marketing
Randy Cook
Marianne Hilton
Rita Morkrid

Special Thanks to
Erichsen Cabinet Shop
Minuteman Press - Downtown Tacoma
Inform Puget Sound
and all of our wonderful table captains!

We're looking forward to an even bigger and better event next year!

It's never too early

... for the littlest among us to learn about helping their neighbors in need. That was the lesson when a delightful group of preschoolers from St. Luke's Memorial Episcopal Church visited Northwest FISH. The group of four- and five-year-olds toured the food bank with their teacher Terri Atkinson. Food bank coordinator Debbie Price reports, "we all discusses the families in our community that aren't always able to buy food for themselves and the importance of helping each other when people sometimes aren't able to take care of themselves." The youngsters brought food donations and a big Ziploc bag of donated coins.

St. Luke's Memorial Episcopal preschool class visits NW Tacoma FISH

Food bank coordinator Debbie Price tours the kids through the food bank

Teacher Terri Atkinson and students listen as Debbie explains how the food bank works

Looking back, looking ahead

2011 was quite a year for FISH, and we continue to be immensely grateful for all the friends, volunteers, donors and supporters who make our work possible.

A few highlights:

• In 2011 we served more than 450,000 Pierce County residents, a 25% increase over 2010.
• We distributed approximately 7,500,000 pounds of donated food.
• We added a new food bank: Key Peninsula Lutheran Church joined our organization in April and is now Key Peninsula FISH. 
• With generous support from The Thompson Foundation and Mountain Construction, we added 1,000 square feet of badly-needed storage space at Southeast FISH. 
• Under the leadership of board member Mike Mowat, we began piloting a mobile food bank project designed to reach pockets of poverty around the county where there is high need and no nearby food bank.

And we're already planning big things for 2012:

• The mobile food bank is now serving at three different sites each week, with more to be added: Giaudrone Middle School (Mondays 4:30-6:30 p.m.), Bethel High School (Wednesdays 4:30-6:30 p.m.) and Northeast Tacoma Elementary School (Fridays 4:30-6:00 p.m.).
• Our board of directors is planning its first fundraising event. The dance, featuring the music of Daryl and the Diptones, will be held on Saturday, April 28 at the Landmark Convention Center in Tacoma.
• Thanks to a new and growing partnership with Bethel School District, we will be opening a new food bank in July 2012 on the campus of the former Spanaway Elementary School.

It's going to be another big year, so keep watching this space for more news!

More from the mobile food bank

Our partners at Grace Place Church, which is hosting the mobile food bank on Fridays from 12-2 pm, posted some video from the dedication on Oct. 14.

Grace Place is located at 3801 S. Union in Tacoma.

Take a look at our new mobile food bank

Our new mobile food bank made a very successful debut last week with stops at Grace Place Church, where Pastor Danny Thomas offered a blessing and dedication of the new mobile unit, and at Northeast Tacoma Elementary School.

The mobile unit, a converted 45-ft furniture van, is Pierce County's first completely self-contained mobile food bank and one of only a few in the country. Take a look:

Clients enter the mobile unit on the side and push their shopping cart right down the center aisle.

Ramps at the side and back make for easy entry and exit.

FISH's Debbie Price and Mike Mowat review shelf stock for the mobile food bank's first stop. 

FISH hits the road!

Beginning in mid-October, FISH will launch its first mobile food bank. This is a pilot project in attempting to reach underserved parts of Pierce County where there is high need but no food bank access. 

Under the leadership of FISH board member Mike Mowat, a 48-ft former furniture van is being outfitted with a generator, lights, propane heaters, shelves and entry/exit ramps. It will have more storage and display capacity than some fixed food banks, but will be able to move to where the need is.

Like our fixed-location food banks, the mobile food bank will operate on a walk-in, self-serve model. Inside the trailer, individuals will check in and receive a small shopping cart. They will then walk down a center aisle and select food from the shelving units on either side, just as in our fixed locations.

Northeast Tacoma Elementary School will be the first regular weekly stop on the mobile schedule.

The school’s principal approached FISH some time ago about starting a food bank in the neighborhood. Northeast Tacoma is one of Pierce County’s underserved areas, where there is high need but no access to a food bank. The closest food bank is just across the county line in Federal Way, but its funding restrictions mean that it serves only King County residents. Pierce County residents aren’t eligible to receive federal commodity food there, and the nearest Pierce County food bank is eight miles away. 

We are currently talking with potential partners to find other sites for the mobile food bank schedule. If you'd like to suggest an area of need or a prospective site for the mobile food bank, just let us know via phone at 253-383-3164 or email us.

Sun shines on the Proctor Art-a-Thon

Artist Andrea Greenfield with some of her creations

Many thanks to the Proctor Art Gallery and the Proctor Farmers' Market, who teamed up again to present the 3rd Annual Proctor Art-a-Thon at the Market on Saturday, July 23, all to benefit NW Tacoma FISH, located at Mason United Methodist Church, adjacent to the Market.
Special thanks to each of the artists who took part, donating their time all day, doing art demonstrations and creating works inspired by the Farmers' Market while they accepted donations and pledges for NW Tacoma FISH. The proceeds allow the food bank to purchase fresh produce from the Market.
From Proctor Art Gallery came Andrea Greenfield, Arvid Anderson, Bonnie Cargol, Emily Porter, Marquita Hunt, Sharon Crocetti, Tom Bona, Carolyn Burt and Gary LaTurner, along with friends Alexis St. John and Mary Wolfe. The event drew big crowds, drawn by the perfect weather.
Thanks also to Louise Andersen and Felicity Devlin from the Proctor Farmers’ Market for all of their sponsorship and hard work promoting the event.  
There were many highlights: Artists Mary and Bill Wolfe donated the wonderful Victorian style rocking horse which brought in over $100  by itself. And artist Mauricio Rubilino spent the day in the Kids’ Booth, creating two gorgeous mosaics with the children's participation. The mosaics will be displayed at the Proctor Arts Fest on Aug. 6. People will be invited to donate for a chance to win them.

Artists Bill & Mary Wolfe donated this wonderful Victorian rocking horse,
inviting donations for a chance to win the horse.