2013 Winter Good Cheer newsletter

1

Good Cheer Food Bank & Thrift Stores

Food Bank & Thrift Stores

Living in the moment

Lessons in the

garden

Holiday

Appeal

Winter 2013 Vol. 10, No. 4

When was a young woman, Sam had a life plan which included serving in the U.S. Army like her dad did and pursuing the American dream of a happy marriage and kids. Unfortunately, a series

of traumatic events de-railed these plans, leaving Sam depressed, in fragile health, and unsure of how to continue onward. When her ex-husband moved her children from Texas to Washington state, she thought all hope was lost. It took the wisdom of her boyfriend, Clay,

to help Sam realize that she needed to quit her job and move closer to her kids so she could regain the one thing that brought life back to her diminished spirit.

Sam and Clay packed up everything and started out for Washington; the only sure income they had was a small disability pay-ment Sam received from the military.

When Sam moved to Whidbey Island, she was able to get her kids for the sum-mer. She met Miriam Coates, (coordinator of several summer lunch programs), and became involved in

the WIN summer feeding program at the park that summer. Her first thought was, “Wow, these people

care about my kids eating?” It was a new idea to her that a community could be that

Meet Good Cheer’s Mr. Fix-Its: Dan and Mike Burroughs

▲ Sam and her boyfriend, Clay, often volun-teer at Good Cheer Food Bank. Recently they helped distribute some of the 900 turkeys available to families for Thanksgiving.

A Food Bank client saves herself by helping others

▲ Identical twins Dan and Mike Burroughs volunteer their time to do dozens of minor re-pair jobs at Good Cheer’s three locations. They also price hardware items that come through Good Cheer’s Distribution Center.

“We’ve been pretty busy this week,” said Dan Burroughs. “More than usual,” chimed in his twin

brother Mike as they finished up painting a ceiling patch at the Langley Thrift Store, the result of a leaky roof. Also on their to-do list that day: replace and recycle several lighting tubes, plus a wall patch in the upstairs bath-room.Mike, a retired architect, and Dan, a retired

bridge design engineer, moved to Whidbey where they had spent idyllic childhood sum-mers with their grandparents. Mike lives on land that his grandparents purchased in the 1940s. They began volunteering at Good Cheer

earlier this fall. “I had a big vegetable garden and used to

bring produce up to the Food Bank,” said

Continued on page 7

Compassion is a powerful healing force that helps both the person giving it and the person receiving it.

Continued on page 7

Mike. “That’s how I learned about the need for small handyman jobs.”“There’s a real spirit in this community of

people helping people. I’ve never seen it to this degree any other place I’ve lived,” said Dan.When not doing small hands-on jobs, they

sort and price hardware in Good Cheer’s Distribution center, a natural with their con-struction backgrounds.They are also accomplished artists: Dan in

oils and Mike in watercolors. Their artwork is on exhibit at the artists’s co-op just around the corner of the Langley Store.“They are just a great couple of volunteers,”

said Curtis Price, manager of Good Cheer’s Distribution Center. “They do everything from patching holes, to hanging signs, to


2

Living in the moment while fighting to stay alive“I finally went to the Food Bank last

month. I’ve been living in this community for 24 years. I’ve donated to Good Cheer. I’ve shopped at Good Cheer Thrift Stores. But it was still an emotional and humbling experience,” said Teresa Wheeler, a South Whidbey special education para-educator and longtime tennis instructor.“By going there, I was facing the reality

that we are in great need. I was identify-ing with others, who for whatever reason, also needed the Food Bank. When I went there, I saw people I knew. We had a kin-dred spirit.“Our money is very tight at the moment

with Bob’s only income being Social Se-curity. It was wonderful to know that we could benefit from this wonderful place at a time when we need help.“I never used chard before-- I never even

knew that it existed -- and here, look at how beautiful this is!,” she said, holding up a large leaf washed for the juicer.The escarole is part of a strict, organic

juice diet regimen that is part of a larger alternative treatment method to fight the stage 4 colon cancer that her husband, Bob, was diagnosed with two months ago. “The idea is to starve the cancer cells of

what they need to grow while empowering the body to heal itself,” Bob explains.Since the cancer has spread to several or-

gans, the only conventional medical treat-ments at this stage are chemotherapy and radiation, neither of which align with the Wheeler’s natural health philosophy.Though a somewhat easy decision for

them, the alternative treatment route has not been easy for some people to accept.“One of the things I learned early on with

cancer is that everybody has an opinion on how to ‘fix’ it,” Bob said.“A few friends have argued with me about

my decision, but once we get past that it is my decision, they accept it and are supportive of it – whether they agree with it or not. That is a true demonstration of love,” he said.“We appreciate that a lot of

people in the community are praying for us,” Teresa added.

Food Bank provides garden produce to couple battling cancer

Continued next page

▲ Bob and Teresa Wheeler hold up a leaf of chard from the Food Bank to be juiced as part of an alternative treatment approach they have chosen to fight Bob’s colon cancer.

(The Wheelers have a large faith-based community which encompasses both Cal-vary Chapel and Trinity Lutheran Church.)“We’re very open about how God is tak-

ing care of us through all this,” said Bob. “He has been loving me at a depth I had not realized before. I have never been afraid of this whole thing (cancer) be-cause I have faith in God.”Teresa makes fresh juice for Bob every

hour, up to 13 times each day. About 15 pounds of organic produce are required daily: 10 lbs. of carrots, 5 lbs. of greens, plus potatoes, green apples, and melons. Sometimes friends leave bags of organ-

ic carrots on their doorstep. Other friends have donated to a special ‘Bob Wheeler Donation Account’ at Wells Fargo in

▲ Teresa prepares some of the 15 lbs. of organic produce she juices daily her husband, about a glassful every hour.

3


Living in the moment, continuedFreeland. The Star Store also provides case discounts on the organic produce. To supplement the enormous volume re-

quired by the treatment, the Wheelers stop by Good Cheer Food Bank once or twice a week.“Thank God the Food Bank is there for

us,” Teresa said. “Without the Food Bank, we couldn’t do

this,” added Bob.

Buying, washing, preparing the produce, juicing, and then cleaning the machine is a time-consuming process. That and office visits to an oncologist in Seattle (Bob’s condition is being monitored) are a major reason Teresa took a leave of absence from her job. Facing the daily reality of fighting cancer

has taught her several things.“Sometimes when people first hear about

Bob, they express how ter-rible it must be. We don’t see it that way. Sure, the work is hard, but some-times we feel that we need to reassure people because they seem to be taking it harder than us. “If anything, cancer can be

a gift because it awakens you to the now. That’s really all we have is now.

“I used to be afraid to be around anyone with a terminal illness. I didn’t know what to say. “I know what to say now: Tell them that

you love them and that you are there for them. Say what you love about them or the person they love who is facing cancer. “Just identify with them,” she said, add-

ing: “You don’t have to fix them, just love them where they are.“Be present. Give love. Receive love.”

“I used to be afraid to be around anyone with a terminal illness. I didn’t know what to say. I know what to say now: Tell them that you love them and that you are there for them. Say what you love about them or the person they love who is facing cancer...You don’t have to fix them, just love

them where they are. Be present. Give love. Receive love.”

– Teresa Wheeler

◄ The Wheelers chart the daily routine of juices, soups, and supplements.

The most wonderful time of the year is here!Child’s Chance to Give Dec. 12 and 13

Good Cheer’s an-nual Child’s Chance to Give event helps improve the holidays for children whose families use the Food Bank. Both Good Cheer Thrift Store locations close early and staff, volunteers and Board members, often dressed in elvish attire, serve as per-sonal shoppers and help children pick out presents for their par-ents, caregivers and siblings.This year’s event takes place at 6 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 12 at the Langley Thrift Store and on Friday, Dec. 13 at the Ken’s

Korner store location.“Children really do

understand that it is important to give to others,” said Execu-tive Director Kathy McCabe, “and I’m so thankful to our Thrift Store item donors for making it possible.

“The item you do-nated may be the very thing that brightens up the world for a child that dreams about giving a mean-ingful gift to their loved one,” she said.

Sign-ups are at the Food Bank for this year’s event.

Please give toGood Cheer Food Bank’sHoliday Fund Drive using the enclosed envelope.

Your donation feeds families right here in our community.


4

Students learn to build community from the soil up

▲ Second graders on a recent visit to the Good Cheer garden.

Thanks to a partnership with Good Cheer and the South Whidbey School District, there’s plenty more growing in the schools’ gardens than just vegetables.

Student knowledge is also growing as the gardens prove an ideal place to learn and apply math, science and writing skills.

Elementary School second grade teacher Leslie Woods and Service, Education, Ad-venture (SEA) coordinator Susie Richards implemented a garden learning project en-titled: Building Community From The Soil Up, which was funded by the South Whid-bey Schools Foundation.

“It gave us a year-long focus into which we could weave just about any part of our curriculum,” Woods wrote in her project summary.

“Students demon-strated the life cycle with the plants, but also measured them and compared their growth. They asked questions and pre-dicted what might happen to plants when the weather was too cold or hot. They learned what happens if we for-get to water! They took the facts they learned about peas and wrote fiction stories based on those facts.

“Some even had the opportunity to speak

publicly about the project at Good Cheer’s Fresh Food on the Table cel-ebration,” she wrote.

“Since we are growing food for Good Cheer Food Bank, we took a field trip there, where we also learned about helpful and harmful insects in the garden,” she wrote.

“We could tell the Food Bank staff was very touched that the stu-dents were growing food and learn-ing about gardening. Children also brought canned goods to the Food Bank that day,” she wrote.

District science teachers worked closely with Good Cheer Garden Co-ordinator Cary Peterson and Garden Apprentice/Americorps volunteer Casey

Jackson, who worked nearly full-time on-site at the schools’ gardens, utilizing her degrees in chemistry and biology.

Jackson helped cre-ate a terraced garden on a back field of South Whidbey Academy, plus other improve-ments to the smaller Elementary School garden which needed rehabbing.

“We moved the hoop-house from Bayview School and

refurbished it, laid irrigation lines, built the terraced garden, repaired raised beds of a previous garden, and planted the first crops,” said David Pfeiffer, South Whid-bey Academy Director.

“This year we will be adding a 100- by 100-foot fenced garden area and working toward constructing a larger hoop-house where we can hold classes and grow vege-tables in the winter. We also hope to be-gin a hydroponics project and aquaculture project involving high school students,” Pfeiffer noted.

A larger, longer-term goal under discus-sion is growing fresh vegetables that will be used in the schools’ cafeterias. School garden produce is currently donated to the Food Bank.

▲ School Garden Apprentice Casey Jackson teaches a young student how to plant a seedling.

“Many children have been talking about gardens they are starting at home. They are much more aware of why we compost and are participating in reducing food waste. They see themselves as part of

a larger community, and realize that they make a difference in the community.” – Leslie Woods, S.W. Elementary School Teacher

One of the most memorable moments for Woods was when one of her second-graders whispered so that only nearby Woods and Jackson could hear, that her family gets food from the Food Bank.

Jackson leaned in and whispered back, “You know what? So do I,” and smiled. The girl lifted her head and flashed a broad smile back.

n South Whidbey School gar-dens donated 1,238 pounds of produce to the Food Bank. n The Fresh Food on the Table Program provided 24,460 lbs. of fresh local fruits and vegetables in 2013 so far, and we aren’t done yet!n One Good Cheer “point” can be exchanged for $3.62 worth of fresh produce.n In 2013, over 800 lbs. of excess produce have been pro-cessed and preserved for winter.n Since the Good Cheer Garden began in 2008, community volun-teers have given more than 9,293 hours to help grow and harvest garden produce.n The dollar value equivalent of all these efforts is $76,605.

Fast Facts...

5


In October 2008, the Good Cheer Board approved the “Sustaining Gardens” Program, now called Fresh Food on the Table. The vision was simple,

yet ambitious: “To develop and imple-ment a program that supplies locally grown organic pro-duce to Good Cheer Food Bank.” This has been

accomplished. In 2008, an

average of 604 families per month visited the Food Bank.

This number has grown to 880 families per month in 2013, a 45 percent increase. During that time, dollars spent on food per family

▲ Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland is Good Cheer’s newest honey-bee level sponsor. Pastor Jim Lindus presented Good Cheer Executive Director Kathy McCabe with a $6,000 check, $2,500 of which was designated for the Fresh Food On The Table Program.

Our newest honey-bee level sponsor...

Gardens meet the growing need for fresh produce

South Whidbey School Gardens (Langley Middle School, South Whidbey Academy and SW Elementary School), Whidbey Institute Westgarden, Bayview Garden at WICEC, Greenbank Farm, Farmer’s Market gleaning, Gleeful Gleaners, Deep Harvest Farm, Ebb Tide Farm, and home gardens.Through Fresh Food on the Table, Food

Bank clients have been able to receive highly nutritious fresh vegetables that were previously unavailable.The amount of fresh food available to

clients has grown from less than .1 lb. per family per month in 2008 to 2 lbs. per family per month in 2013. Nutrition and cooking classes helped change habits toward healthy eating, with reported health benefits. Good Cheer now contracts with local farmers to provide fresh produce throughout the winter months.

Fresh Food on the Table2013 Production by Source

Good CheerGarden$29,085

Contributing Farms & Gardens$9,690

Gleaning Programs

$19,005

Community Donations

$18,825

10,000 pounds

7,500

5,000

2,500

0

$ Value

Please support our Holiday Fund Drive.Your donation helps more than 880 local families.

have decreased. The budget for Food Bank staff has not increased. The food gap

has been filled by increased food donations to the Food Bank, and

increased fresh local produce delivered through the Fresh Food on the Table program.

The modest baseline for deliveries of local fresh food

in 2008 was 230 lbs. from the Langley Middle School Garden,

and home and farm donations.

In 2013 so far, Fresh Food on the Table has sup-

plied more than 24,460 lbs. of fresh organic produce from a

community-wide system that now includes the Good Cheer Garden,


6

A few of the many people and organizations we are thankful for...

$3,000 raised at Empty Bowl Soup NightEmpty Bowl Soup Night raised more than

$3,000 to purchase fresh produce from local farmers over the winter

Delicious soups were made by local chefs

including MukCafe at Mukilteo Roasters, Use-less Bay Coffee and Neil’s Clover Patch. Other soups were made in the Good Cheer kitchen by several volunteers.

Bread was baked by the new Living Green Bakery and Café in Langley. Attendees bought and filled bowls and mugs donated by WIN, the Paint Escape, and local artist Mary Wallace.

▼...The local Knights of Columbus packaged and delivered 3,000 pounds of donated potatoes to the Food Bank. You guys rock!

▼...’Spice girl’ volunteer Lynn Willeford ensures that spices are avail-able for clients. Lynn and her husband Blake recently ran a docu-mentary about hunger in America: “A Place at the Table” at their Clyde Theatre.

▲...Langley Middle School students held food drives that resulted in 1,010 pounds of donated food. Shown here are the seventh-graders and their food sculpture dubbed, “Santa’s Chair.”

▲...Red Apple at Ken’s Korner held a food drive which brought in 806 pounds of food.

◄...The Goose Community Grocer and Puget Sound Energy sponsored a drive that resulted in 80 turkeys donated for the holidays. PSE‘s Walt Blackford is shown handing a check to Food Bank Manager Karen Korbelik.

►...The Payless Foods team hold up re-usable bags that enable shoppers to automatically donate a nickel to the Food Bank which is then matched by Payless. So far this year $13,370 has been raised and a total of $70, 263 has been donated to Good Cheer since the program began.

7


Facilities Upkeep, continued from page 1

generous. Her kids had better food and Sam found out about other resources in this com-munity including Good Cheer Food Bank. She began to volunteer here.Helping others helped Sam to focus on

helping herself. She had self-medicated with alcohol to ease the pain that plagued her and needed to kick that habit if she were to be-come the mom she wanted to be for her kids.She began to go to support groups at the

Veteran’s Resource Center which helped her get and stay sober. She began to vol-unteer there, too. Sam found a spark in her spirit when she was able to help others.Helping others has helped Sam to help her-

self. Because of her difficulties, Sam has a unique way of seeing people without judg-ing them, and is one of the most welcoming volunteers at Good Cheer Food Bank.

Sam’s kids were here again this past sum-mer. They helped at Good Cheer and ate Kids Café and WIN lunches. Mostly what they did was bask in the warmth of their mom’s sobriety and happy spirit. The kids are back with their dad for the

school year, but they have a mom they know they can rely on. Sam is still volunteering at Good Cheer Food Bank. She is in the process of becoming an advocate for mili-tary veterans who need help navigating the military benefits system. She has now been sober for over a year and she is moving for-ward in her life.Compassion is a powerful healing force

that helps both the person giving it and the person receiving it. Sam is a perfect example of the truism that when we show compassion toward others, the person who benefits most is often ourselves.

doing small construction projects. They put in between four and 12 hours a week.“We thought we could tell the difference be-

tween them because we thought only Dan wore glasses, but then Mike showed up the other day wearing them. He let us call him Dan about three times before correct-ing us,” Price said.The two brothers

are on the front edge of a larger group concerned with Good Cheer’s infrastruc-ture and mainte-nance: the Facilities Committee.That group is led by

Good Cheer’s new-est Board member: Jerry Bacon, who assumed Maury Hood’s vacant Board seat as well as his position heading the Committee.The retired urban planner and former Direc-

tor of Community Development of Mercer Island, who has lived 60 of his 74 years on islands, was looking to do some volunteer work in his newest island community where

▲ New Board member Jerry Bacon chairs Good Cheer’s Facilities Committee.

Helping Others, continued from page 1

he has lived with his wife Daunne Zinger since 2004. He had heard a lot of good things about

Good Cheer from neighbor and fellow Board member Pam Bickel, and Board member

Louise Prewitt, a col-league he had known during a 10-year stint as a national and re-gional Red Cross Di-saster Response Team volunteer.“The timing (for join-

ing the Board) was right,” Bacon said, add-ing that he didn’t just want to fill a vacant seat to warm it, but to be proactive in the po-sition.“I’m enjoying work-

ing with the Board, staff and volunteers,”

Bacon said. As Facilities Committee Chair, my

job is to look at the bigger picture of main-tenance, repairs and planning for structural growth.“Right now we’re dealing with a leaky roof

at Langley, but we’re also discussing roof moss removal at the Bayview facility and a future exterior paint job there. We’re also looking at space needs for the donation and

Facts About Senior Hunger• 1in6liveinpoverty• 65% of seniors who are eligible for

SNAP benefits are not using them• 10,000Babyboomersareturning65

every day for the next 20 years• 1to3foodinsecureseniorsaredisabled• 30%ofAmerican retireesmustchoose

between food and medical expenses

disbursement center. These are things that have to be planned and budgeted well ahead of doing them” he said.The seven-person group usually meets

monthly or more often as needed, and in-cludes Al Slader, Laura Price, Louise Prewitt, Tom Nack, Executive Director Kathy Mc-Cabe, and Board President Ann Gallagher.

Inspired by flowers and herbs in Good Cheer’s garden, Greenbank Fay Farm owners Stacy Anderson and Michael Yocco created a Good Cheer soap and are donating a portion of sales to the Food Bank. The $6 bar soap is avail-able online at www.thefayfarm.com and at the Pike Place Market.

Locally made Good Cheer soap benefits the Food Bank


8

Good Cheer Food Bank & Thrift StoresPO Box 144Langley, WA 98260www.goodcheer.org

NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDSAM INC

Good Cheer Board of direCtorsAnn Gallagher, President Marilee Seligson, Vice President Robin Hertlein, TreasurerPam Bickel, Secretary

Rob AndersonJerry BaconJim HartleyTom NackBob OlsonLouise PrewittJay RyanKay StanleyBill WattsGene WhiteJohn Worthington

Executive Director Kathleen McLaughlin McCabe

Send out Good Cheer holiday cards and coffee to everyone on your list...

Donate $100 in honor of family and friends and we’ll provide you with five holiday cards to tell them that a gift has been made in their honor. (Give us your list and for the ad-ditional cost of postage, we’ll even mail them for you.) Or, for every $100 donation choose a special

bag of Good Cheer label roasted coffee from our friends at Mukilteo Coffee Roasters. What could be better than the aroma of fresh-

ly brewed coffee on a cold December morning! Best of all, your gift benefits our Food Bank.

So give a gift that gives twice! Stop in at any Good Cheer Thrift Store or the Food Bank.

It’s hot off the presses and available at every Good Cheer location.

Stop in and pick up a Whidbey Island thrift store ‘treasure map’ that lists many of Whidbey Island’s nonprofit thrift stores.

Get your map stamped at all of the stores and receive 10% off an item as a reward.

What treasure will you discover?

Picked up your Whidbey Island Thrift Store ‘Treasure Map’ yet?

SHOP LOCAL n DONATE LOCAL n FEED LOCALS

Documents

2013 Winter Good Cheer newsletter