Stamp Out Hunger 26th Annual Food Drive Set for Sat., May 12 Will Benefit Fishline

• Archive

The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will conduct its 26th annual national food drive on Saturday, May 12. The Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive, the country’s largest single-day food drive, provides residents with an easy way to donate food to those in need in their community. Here in Poulsbo, all donated food goes directly to North Kitsap Fishline, where it will be weighed, sorted, and distributed to households in Poulsbo, Keyport, and Suquamish.

Customers simply leave their donation of non-perishable goods next to their mailbox before the delivery of the mail on Saturday, May 12. Fishline volunteers, in cooperation with the Poulsbo Post Office, will collect food donations along the postal routes.

The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is the nation’s largest single-day food drive and is held annually on the second Saturday in May in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. Since the first national Food Drive in 1993, the Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive has collected more than 1.5 billion pounds of food. Last year, nearly 8,000 pounds of that food went to Fishline.

With the economic struggles many Americans face, the Letter Carriers’ Food Drive is as critical as ever. Not only do millions of Americans go hungry, organizations that help them are in need of replenishments. Hunger affects about 50 million people around the country, including millions of children, senior citizens and veterans. Pantry shelves filled up through winter-holiday generosity often are bare by late spring. And, with most school meal programs suspended during summer months, millions of children must find alternate sources of nutrition.

We’re fortunate that Poulsbo’s postmaster Harry Kleinfelter and his team see these struggles in our community and believe it’s important to do what they can to help.

If you are in the Poulsbo area, we encourage you to leave a sturdy bag—paper or plastic—containing non-perishable foods, such as peanut butter, tuna, cereal, canned fruits and vegetables, next to your mailbox before the regular mail delivery on Saturday, May 12th. If you have questions or need more information about Stamp Out Hunger in our area, you can visit our Stamp Out Hunger Event page HERE.

People who have questions about the drive in their area should ask their letter carrier, contact their local post office, or go to nalc.org/food, facebook.com/StampOutHunger or twitter.com/StampOutHunger.

If you are interested in volunteering with Fishline on that day, please sign up HERE or email [email protected]

Community Partner: Crabtree Brands

• Community Partner, News

Crabtree Brands, which includes Silver Creek Angus and ChocMo Chocolatier and Cafe will be our Community Partner through 2018! Throughout the year these businesses will be working together with Fishline to help feed our neighbors in need! Read more below about the ways that these great businesses are supporting Fishline today!

 

For every 10 (one pound) packs of ground beef sold, Silver Creek Angus will donate one pound to Fishline. Purchase beef at either of Retail marketplaces located inside High Spirits & Viking Feed; Or order beef online by visiting our Online Marketplace.

 

Purchase a box of ChocMo Special Edition Caramels. $3.00 from each box sold will be directed to Fishline’s Children Services programs. This item is currently available for pre-order but will be available in the store soon.

Whether you dine in at ChocMo or order online, they will donate $2.00 for every order of our Veggie “Pasta”. These funds will go toward Fishline’s Healthy Table Program, which helps them keep fresh produce, dairy, and eggs available to their clients. 

 

Fishline After Hours Cupboard

• News

Fishline now has an “Afterhours Cupboard” outside the food bank where clients can pick up needed items when the food bank is closed.

Fishline supporters can also drop off non-perishable items here when we are not here to receive your donations!

“Take what you need; leave what you can.”

This beautiful pantry was made by one of our Fishline volunteers and is just another way to serve our clients.

 

The pantry is located outside the food bank at 787 NW Liberty Lane. All are welcome to use and donate to the cupboard. Visit our Facebook page to learn find our weekly list of most needed items or to ask any questions about this resource.

Free Closet

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Hawaiian Theme Day!

When these volunteers started our weekly outdoor Free Closet, you could practically predict the weather based on whether or not it was Wednesday. If it was below zero, it was Wednesday. If the wind was blowing sideways, it was Wednesday. Six months later, they have good reason to don their Hawaiian shirts!
Why start an outdoor anything in the dead of winter? Well, in this case, longtime Fishline volunteers Helen Supancheck and Karen Calhoun heard a story. It was about a boy who came into Fishline without a coat. While we often give vouchers for folks to buy clothes at Second Season (our thrift store), no clothing was available on site. This was enough to spur these women into action. They enlisted their husbands, Greg and Steve, their neighbor Kaori, and even her spouse!
This operation is no easy feat: inventory is picked up almost daily from Second Season. They load and unload hundreds of pounds of clothing, haul it upstairs, and sort it in whatever available space they can find. But the service has been so well-received, they have no plans to quit anytime soon. Helen told me that they knew they had done the right thing when one day, early on, a homeless man without shoes came by. They had exactly one pair of shoes in their entire inventory and guess what? They fit him like a glove!

Fishline’s Comprehensive Services Center Receives $300,000 from the Birkenfeld Foundation

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North Kitsap Fishline received a $300,000 grant from the Birkenfeld Foundation to support construction of its new Food Bank and Comprehensive Services Center in Poulsbo, Washington. Construction of the project is underway with expected completion in early summer of 2018.

The new building will provide both efficient food delivery and integrated comprehensive services to help clients achieve self-sufficiency and transform their lives.

The Comprehensive Services Center will create the first coordinated effort in North Kitsap to bring together providers partnering with Fishline to offer services related to food, employment, education, substance abuse, dental care, domestic violence, housing, senior, and veteran’s services.

Keith Birkenfeld, who died in 2005, was a Bremerton native who retired from the Bellevue School District, where he taught in the high school and served as an administrator. He spent his last 25 years living on Bainbridge Island and amassed a fortune through sound investing that he directed to support of impactful charities upon his death in 2005.

“Mr. Birkenfeld came from humble beginnings here in Kitsap County. He worked hard and did well and left his entire estate to benefit others. He believed in our collective ability to raise all boats and to therefore ensure the security of all. The approach taken by Fishline to raise all boats has inspired us to give, as it has so many others. We are proud to be a part of this caring community and powerful project.”
Claire Bishop, Birkenfeld Trust Director

Click here for more information on how you can support Fishline through the Birkenfeld Gardens.