Where Do Our Green Bags Go?

Where Do Our Green Bags Go?
Donna Gaddy

After FUMCO's last Green Bag Sunday, members of United Women in Faith decided to visit the Thurston County Food Bank warehouse to learn how our donations journey on to help our hungry neighbors. And we were amazed! Imagine a space about the size of FUMCO's library stacked high and tight with banana boxes. This sea of boxes was the first sight that greeted us, as we entered the sorting room to be greeted by volunteers Toni Miklich and Karin Novitsky. Each box is filled with similar items, sorted from the many green bags that come to the warehouse. This is the first step in organizing donations—and what a wide range of useful items there is…

We were joined by Rebekah Graham of the Food Bank staff, who led us through the high-ceilinged rooms to observe a number of programs that the Food Bank supports: from food deliveries to immobile seniors, to backpacks for food-insecure students, to supplying a wide range of smaller “pantries”, to providing sanitary supplies and other toiletry items.

This facility is a true warehouse, with temperatures on the chilly side. But we visited the “cooler” and discovered it was—as the name suggests—quite a bit chillier. Two members of our group are gleaners, and they had an opportunity to renew acquaintance with the carrots they had picked just a few days previously! Next, we briefly explored the freezer, stacked high with frozen items. In the main room, we noticed some items of a more “frivolous” nature–cookies, fancy crackers, chocolate. Many of these items are donated by companies like Starbucks and Trader Joe's, we learned, and these items will enrich holiday-time food baskets, a small treat.

In addition to green bag collections, the food bank receives support from state and federal food programs, both financial and in-kind. At the time of our visit, they were hoping to receive funding specifically for diapers, a much-requested item. The scope of this operation is impressive, and the enthusiasm and diligence of the volunteers we met contagious… UWIF proudly supports both the Food Bank and the Other Bank through our missional giving. This visit certainly cemented our commitment to both!