Food Bank has helped us; we need to help it | In Our Opinion
Published 3:42 pm Friday, December 14, 2012
The Kingston Food Bank is an important part of the local safety net. While ShareNet Food Bank is larger and serves a broader base, Kingston Food Bank is important because it meets the needs of an important demographic: Older residents, homeless residents, people who rely on foot or pedal power.
This year, the Kingston Food Bank provided Thanksgiving food baskets to 62 households. Food bank volunteers are now preparing Christmas food boxes, which include gifts for children. The Food Bank is open every Wednesday and Friday, noon to 3 p.m., or people can call director Barb Fulton at home.The Kingston Food Bank has been meeting local food needs for 40 years. Now, it needs the community’s help.
The Food Bank must move from its current site, which is owned by the county Parks and Recreation Department. The building needs repairs and the county doesn’t have the money to fix it. Faith Community Church and the VFW, which shared the building with the Food Bank, have already moved.
In finding a new location, Fulton is staying true to the organization’s primary constituency. She turned down an offer of space on Highland Road, off Highway 104 near Wolfle Elementary School, because it was too far away from downtown Kingston. After the Christmas holiday, the Food Bank will move to the Windermere office building, 26569 Lindvog Road NE. But that move is temporary.
Here’s how you can help:1. Help the Food Bank find a new, suitable location near downtown. Contact Fulton at 297-4861 or 297-7100; email bettyboop66@centurylink.net; or visit her Wednesday and Friday, between noon and 3 p.m., at the Food Bank, 2609a6 Bannister St. NE., Kingston.
Or, 2. Help the Food Bank stay where it is. Parks and Recreation Director Jim Dunwiddie said it would cost approximately $90,000 to bring the Food Bank building up to code. If the county can find a tenant or tenants who can help share the costs, the building can be saved.
This is a worthy community project. Coffee Oasis, a coffee shop and youth drop-in center, is opening at 780 NE Iverson St. in Poulsbo because of $87,000 in grants, donations and volunteer labor. Organizations that helped include the Americana Music Fest, Kiwanis Club, Lions Club, Rotary Club, Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce, and local churches
The Kingston Food Bank’s mission is “To supply food and basic necessities for our local families in Kingston that need our services. No child is to go hungry.”
A worthy cause indeed. Contact Fulton if you can help ensure a stable future for the Kingston Food Bank.
