SPOKANE, Wash. — More than 90,000 residents in Spokane alone are struggling with food insecurity, according to Feed Spokane.
Their approach to try to help hungry families is to safely rescue food that is already out there. They say on average, their staff and volunteers save more than 27,000 pounds of food a week.
“Feed Spokane has been around since 2005,” said Chrystal Ortega. “I’ve been the Executive Director the past two years.”
And during that time, Ortega says she’s seen the need in our community soar.
“(Local community food banks and pantries) are seeing people in staggering amounts,” she said. “It’s definitely something we’re paying attention to and worried about.
Nonstop Local KHQ was there on a Saturday morning to see just some of the volunteers who are working to make a difference.
“Today we picked up from Costco and Arby’s,” said Feed Spokane volunteer Joshua Emmanuel.
For Emmanuel and the other two men volunteering alongside him, the morning was just the latest opportunity to swoop in and save some food.
“This one has a broken one in it,” he said showing a near perfect bag of produce. “We’ll take it out. (Then we) wash it, rinse it, pack it up nicely.”
From there, it goes to someone in our community in need.
Feed Spokane says several thousands of pounds of food can be tossed in our region weekly. They work tirelessly to safely save what they can, when they can. They frequently rescue produce but also save everything from eggs to pizza to premade dinners.
“A lot of chicken bakes, sandwiches,” Emmanuel said showing one of Feed Spokane’s packed freezers.
“You know, a lot of restaurants were throwing away food…(food) that never (made it to) the public,” she said. “That was really the start of it. We’re rescuing a million pounds of food a year.”
Donations are taken all over the community. They rely on technology to get nonperishable items to those who need it most quickly, to not waste time or food.
“It’s a big help to many different churches and people,” Emmanuel said.
And it takes people to make it all happen.
“We have amazing volunteers,” Ortega said. “We’ve grown from 32 (volunteers) to 110 in just the past few years.”
Restaurants, grocery stores, and even farmers help Feed Spokane by donating what they are unable to sell or serve, for different reasons. The current total of businesses they work with exceeds 130, with multiple distribution locations relying on their work.
“We have 40 consistent donation sites; this year we have supported 57,” Ortega said.
And that requires a lot of time on the road, both picking up, and delivering much needed food.
“We drive two routes a day right now,” Ortega said.
They have two vans now, the smaller exceeding 20 years old. Its size leads to struggle in how much they can transport at one time.
“We need two of the larger ones,” Ortega said. “An average pallet of dairy is somewhere between 1,200 and 1,800 pounds, usually higher than this.”
The price for a new set of wheels is steep, with the need specific.
“It’s going to sound like a lot,” she said. “It’s $80,000, the purchase price of a new van is about $40,000, and then obviously these aren’t standard vans. They are fitted with refrigeration.”
The nonprofit is working to come up with the funds to purchase a new, larger van to keep up with a demand that just seems to be going up.
“It’s definitely daunting,” Ortega said.
But well worth the effort as she says she knows how much it is helping families in need.
If you’d like to help or learn more, visit Feed Spokane.
