January 16, 2008
Lewis County Food Bank Coalition Agency Spotlight
In early December, Western Washington was hit by a torrential storm that left several counties severely flooded and in desperate need of emergency assistance. Lewis County experienced some of the worst flooding and was among the first counties to look to Food Lifeline, the Western Washington America's Second Harvest affiliate, for help.
The Lewis County Food Bank Coalition is a group of eight small food pantries located in a rural county in southwestern Washington. All food pantries are members of Food Lifeline's network of more than 300 food pantries, meal programs and shelters. Coalition member Howard Coleman described the flood, saying, "This was almost a mini-Katrina and we were talking to people who had water to the eaves of their houses." The storm flooded homes, washed out major roads and bridges, and destroyed businesses and farms. Food Bank Coordinators in the economically depressed region have been faced with a sizable challenge, and have been working together to provide food and other resources for victims of the disaster.
The food pantries that comprise the Coalition serve close to 30,000 individuals annually. Fourteen percent of individuals living in Lewis County have income levels below the poverty line, and the median household income is only approximately $35,000, according to the 2000 census. Many of the damaged homes were in areas that had never flooded, and therefore residents were uninsured. Coalition members project that there will be a long term need for additional food for households recovering from the flood.
With the help of the America's Second Harvest network, Food Lifeline has provided four flood impacted counties with over 100,000 pounds of disaster relief food, water, and essential supplies. So far, 19,000 pounds of disaster relief provisions have been delivered directly to the Lewis County Food Bank Coalition. Coalition members work diligently to support each other, and work together to obtain and distribute food. Pe Ell Food Bank co-manager Howard Coleman said, "Being a member of a coalition helped us to get started, and gives us a much better supply of food." The members of the Coalition harness their buying power to purchase food that they would otherwise be unavailable to them as individual food banks. As the Lewis County Food Bank Coalition continues to meet the additional need in flood impacted communities during the rebuilding phase, it will be Food Lifeline's mission to ensure that they have the necessary disaster relief supplies.
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This article was written for America's Second Harvest's "Harvest Times," a quarterly newsletter distributed to America's Second Harvest corporate donors.
To help support the tremendous work that Food Lifeline is doing with the members of the Lewis County Food Bank Coalition and other people in the storm impacted areas, please visit our secure online donation page, call our offices at (206) 545-6600 or send a donation by mail to Food Lifeline: 1702 NE 150th St, Shoreline, WA 98155