Sequim Food Bank
Mission: To provide food, assistance to people and organizations in the Sequim community so that no one goes hungry.
Where: 144 W. Alder St.
Hours: Monday 1 p.m.-4 p.m., and Friday and Saturday 9 a.m.-noon.
Phone: 683-1205
On the web: sequimfoodbank.org
To define the average Sequim Food Bank visitor and create a baseline, food bank officials conducted a needs assessment for the first time in the organization’s 31-year existence.
Based on the results, a local, unemployed, 50-59-year-old white female with a high school diploma and likely some college experience is the typical Sequim Food Bank visitor.
Within an average month, about 70,000 to 75,000 pounds of food are distributed via the food bank. Of that annual 900,000 pounds, 30 percent goes toward someone 18 years old or younger.
Throughout March the assessment compiled feedback from about a third of the monthly visitors, equating to 210 completed surveys. From the results, food bank officials were able to better understand the community they serve, identify visitors’ needs and look more closely at the root causes driving local hunger.
“I think there’s a slight, but fundamental shift in what a food bank is,” Mark Ozias, Sequim Food Bank executive director, said.
Although the needs assessment indicated that one in five visitors of the Sequim Food Bank rely on it for half or more of their total food, underscoring “the basic goal” of the organization, Ozias said he’d also like to cause long lasting impacts and help eliminate hunger at its core.
The price of food and daily living expenses, like transportation, rent and medical costs, were the greatest barriers limiting people’s access to food, according to the needs assessment.
However, knowing food bank officials can’t change the price of food, gas or someone’s rent, but instead reflecting on what the organization can do, Ozias believes that “engagement is key.”
Engagement
To go beyond the primary mission, Ozias forecasts visitor engagement through education, community partnerships and public outreach as the “best chance to help people understand part of why they’re hungry.”
From the needs assessment, Ozias was able to narrow down the types of things food bank visitors would most like to learn if the opportunity were offered.
“There was a lot of emphasis on cooking,” he said.
Thus, from the input, Ozias aims to develop an education and engagement strategy that includes classes on shopping on a budget, basic nutrition, cooking and food preservation.
Simple nutrition tips, such as the difference between eating a piece of toast versus a piece of toast with peanut butter can help teach people about fending off hunger, he explained.
“We want to educate people that hunger can be affected by the decisions we make,” Ozias said.
Pilot program
Another form of engagement is the direct connection between people and food.
To allow food bank visitors the chance to intimately connect with what they eat and expose them to new types of products, Ozias has collaborated with Nash’s Organic Produce.
Once a month from June until September officials with the organic farm located along the fertile delta of the Dungeness River will bring their farmers market booth to the Sequim Food Bank.
“Everyone is going to be able to pick their own fresh produce,” Ozias said. “I’m hoping we’ll see positive results.”
Ozias intends the interaction with local farmers and homegrown food as a possible catalyst for change in the way some food bank visitors eat or understand nutrition.
“This is a creative idea and an example of the community working together to achieve a common goal,” he said.
Officials with Food Lifeline, a member of Feeding America, have provided Ozias with encouraging feedback in regard to the program.
“If our pilot program goes well, it may be a statewide model,” he said.
Feeding America is a countrywide network of organizations aimed at fighting hunger. The majority of the food the Sequim Food Bank receives is through Food Lifeline and its members, including Walmart and QFC. The organization also relies on Washington State hunger relief agency Northwest Harvest and food from Safeway, food drives and individual donations.
This year Food Lifeline members have begun to supply the food bank with prepared items – something Ozias said is helpful for those that don’t have a way to cook.
Serving all
“We don’t deny service to anybody because the reality is we don’t know why they’re here,” Ozias said.
Despite being a homeowner, Sequim resident Brian Gossett utilizes the food bank when work as a landscaper slows and causes him to adjust his spending.
“The food bank has helped immensely, especially during the slow work months for me,” Gossett said. “I don’t abuse the resource and I don’t come here when my kitchen is full.”
Gossett is not alone in relying on the food bank’s services, regardless of his employment status. About a quarter of the visitors have either full-time or part-time jobs, according the needs assessment.
Another quarter of the visitors are retirees and slightly less than half of the visitors are either unemployed and looking for work or on disability.
Although more than half of those that visit the Sequim Food Bank indicated they’re eligible for governmental assistance for food, about 15 percent indicated they don’t know.
To help those that aren’t sure, Ozias has scheduled personnel with Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services to visit the Sequim Food Bank from 9 a.m.-noon, Friday, Oct. 2. DSHS has a “mobile community services office” in the form of a 40-foot truck that allows them to visit more rural areas.
“We learned about a void and now we’re actually going to be able to do something about it,” Ozias said.
Also sparked by the needs assessment is a partnership between Ozias and Sergio Gonzalez, owner of V and S Ace Janitorial. Together, Gonzalez and Ozias are promoting an outreach meeting for Latino community members.
The meeting is 5 p.m., Friday, June 6, at the Guy Cole Convention Center at Carrie Blake Park.
The needs assessment reflected little ethnic diversity, and although Ozias realizes the results are partially because of the area’s demographic, he also wants to ensure the organization is conducting successful outreach.
“We know we’re doing a descent job at who we’re serving, but what about those we’re not?” Ozias said.
A shared effort
Collectively, last year the Sequim, Port Angeles and Forks food banks provided food to one in four families in Clallam County.
Frequent communication among food banks within their mutual county is something Ozias and his counterparts are working toward. To increase information sharing, food bank officials are planning to create a Clallam County food bank coalition.
Although misuse of the Sequim Food Bank as a resource hasn’t been an issue given visits are limited to twice a month and the needs assessment indicates the average visitor utilizes the organization for two years or less, Ozias said, the coalition will improve the ability to track food bank use countywide.
Additionally, Ozias is working with a mix of partners to develop a “healthy community coalition,” he said. The coalition may include the Dungeness Valley Health and Wellness Center, Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, Sequim School District and the Shipley Center.
By September and the 2015-2016 school year, Ozias also hopes to expand the school backpack program initiated last year by Sequim Valley Nazarene. The goal of the program is to ensure children leaving school Friday have adequate food through the weekend.
Through collaboration, the program is anticipated to grow to include 100 elementary students and 20 students from Sequim’s Boys & Girls Club.
“I love that the community takes care of the community,” Christina Norman, Sequim Food Bank volunteer, said. “No one should go hungry here.”
Moving forward with an established baseline generated by the needs assessment, Ozias hopes to conduct assessments on a more regular basis to continue to evaluate the community’s needs and reduce local hunger.
Reach Alana Linderoth at alinderoth@sequimgazette.com.
