To our Nourish Community,
What does it take to nourish a community during a national health crisis?
Supporting best practices as well as our mission, Nourish operates a self-select model. Clients visiting any of our food bank locations, including our two mobile food banks, used a shopping cart while guided by a volunteer to make their own food choices. In March 2020, when COVID-19 hit, we changed to a pre-boxed distribution model to safeguard the health of our community.
Our warehouse became an assembly line. Our food bank parking lots became routed drive-through distribution sites. Our volunteer base, as much as 75%, stayed home due to health concerns. We gratefully welcomed the National Guard to fill the void.
All this, while our client numbers soared to the highest point in our history. Due to the significant increase in demand, we spent our entire annual food budget by mid-year. We are continuing to raise funds and secure grants and donations in order to keep up with demand.
As the health crisis wears on and the economy slowly opens, the need continues. But through it all, and with the support of our generous community, we have continued to provide enough food for three meals a day for three days for each household member to anyone who visits our food banks.
So, what does it take to nourish a community during a national health crisis? It takes all of us, including you. Visit our Get Involved page to learn how you can help. #TogetherWeNourish.
Sue Potter
Chief Executive Officer
PS: If you have already supported Nourish Pierce County this year with a gift and can give again, thank you so much.