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Dear Friends,
In our last letter, we shared with you the challenges that Bellingham Food Bank has been facing. In 2022, client visits doubled, averaging 3,500 visits per week. Unfortunately, the situation is not improving, and we are now serving almost 4,000 visits each week. Despite the tough times, we are incredibly grateful for the unwavering support from you, our community. We want to take a moment to update you on what we have been doing to stay sustainable.
As we now serve more people with less food, we are seeking stronger ties with our shoppers and supporters. It seems the diversity of Whatcom County is often underestimated. Many people do not know there are at least 28 languages spoken at BFB and over a third of shoppers do not speak English. We are working hard to deepen our connections across language and culture so we can work together to overcome challenges as a whole community, not as isolated fractions. Additionally, we approached local government in February to see what we could do together. By May, roughly 50% of our requests were approved by both City and County Council. We continue to seek funding at all levels of government whenever possible. We would also like to highlight Food Lifeline for the work they have done to re-stabilize post-COVID. We are working with the Food Lifeline team on a new pilot program to increase direct ordering and collaboration.
Feeding our community might be a simple mission, but when you commit to it, it is a complex issue with many people involved. It is an absolute joy to see people come together at BFB. We get messages every day from people thanking us and telling us what a positive impact we have had in their life. Sometimes it can be hard to let that sink in because we believe hunger is unacceptable in the first place. If we have learned anything in our 52 years of operation, it is that the only way forward is together. Thank you for being with us.
Stephanie Sisson
Outreach Coordinator
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