Spring 2013 Good Cheer Newsletter

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Good Cheer Food Bank & Thrift Stores

Food Bank & Thrift Stores

Where does all the food come from?

Sunday

volunteers

Our new

truck

Continued on page 2

Growing a healthier community begins here

Spring 2013 Vol. 10, No. 1

Fresh Food on the Table program enters second year

Food has a way of linking us together, whether it’s connecting with a local farmer, or gathering around the table with friends and family. Fresh Food on the Table is a program

which strengthens the local food system by bringing together com-munity partners, local farm-ers, Food Bank clients, volunteers, and community members of all ages. Each contributes a unique piece--be it growing produce for the Food Bank, or playing a role in one of the program’s many levels of food-based education.This overall garden and

food-based effort is enter-ing its second year in supporting the Food Bank’s mission of “creating a hunger-free community” with fresh produce, and has

produced ripples of secondary connections for good in our community.

From Farm & Garden to Food BankThe central goal of the Fresh Food on

the Table Food program is providing the Food Bank with a variety of locally grown produce throughout the year. Last year, over 5,000

pounds of produce was grown in the Good Cheer Garden for Food Bank cli-ents. In addition, another 8,000

pounds of locally grown and gleaned produce was donated or purchased from our Fresh Food Gardens

and other local farms, home gardens, and picked by the Gleeful Gleaners harvesting from local orchards or backyard fruit trees.

This year Greenbank Farm will donate two 100-foot rows of carrots and winter squash. Last year our purchased winter produce

came from Deep Harvest Farm.

Good Cheer’s neighborhood pickup service

Banquet, Auction, and Square Dance April 28 in Thomas Berry Hall

at the Whidbey Institute in Clinton. Appetizers at 5 p.m., Dinner at 6 p.m.Fun-filled auction with Jim Freeman.Square-dance to live music at 8 pm!

Event is FREE, but please come prepared to donate in support of this program.

Register online today at freshfoodonthetable.brownpapertickets.com

Good Cheer’s door-hanger curbside col-lection program will begin this month. Drivers Kelly Schmidt and Steve Harvey will pick up donations from neighborhood homes and bring them back to Good Cheer to be sorted, priced and sent out to the thrift stores.A notice card will be hung on your door-

knob letting you know that we will be back the following week to pick up donations right from your doorstep. You save the time of bringing it in to

Good Cheer and we make good use of time by picking up from a whole neighborhood.We especially appreciate men’s clothes,

kitchenware, tools and electronics. Also furniture that is in marketable condition and appliances that still work. All of these items help us fund the Food Bank through Thrift Store Sales.Large furniture to donate? Call our distri-

bution center at 360-221-6494 and we will make a special trip to pick it up for you.

Coming to a curb near you

▲ Good Cheer driver Steve Harkey picks up several bags of donated clothing.


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a hands-on environment where lessons are taught that support core curriculum edu-cational requirements. Casey Jackson, the school garden apprentice, will develop les-sons about science and sustainability.The Food Bank apprentice will be play-

ing a leadership role primarily in the Good Cheer Food Bank and kitchen. This ap-prentice will learn about the Food Bank’s unique points system, zero waste practices, and sustainable gardening, This apprentice will also develop leadership skills in fresh food management, create fresh food cook-ing demonstrations, and lead volunteers in “putting up for the winter parties.”

Community EducationPeterson and the Garden apprentices

host weekly volunteer work parties at The Good Cheer Garden and the Westgarden at the Whidbey Institute. Community groups and college students will participate in “service-learning”—learning how to grow food, build teamwork skills and experience the value of volunteerism. Other educa-tional events take place at the participating farms and gardens throughout the year. Karen Korbelik and the Food Bank ap-

prentice will oversee the processing of gar-den surplus—whether it is freezing kale or daily preparing the delicious soups served at the Food Bank. They will also share cooking tips with cli-

ents as they shop—Korbelik calls this “re-lational education.” Step-by-step cooking

A healthier community, continued

demonstrations at the Food Bank, teaching clients how to cook nutritious meals as well as process and preserve garden surplus will also be a part of the program. This year’s program will additionally incorporate culi-nary job training for teens from the South Whidbey Commons.Farmers participating in the project share

their expertise with the Community Garden-ing Leadership apprentices and Food Bank clients, and generously donate their surplus crops to the Food Bank. In addition, the Food Bank purchases produce from a local farm throughout the winter months. All this is made possible through the funds

raised at the annual Fresh Food on the Table Banquet at the Whidbey Institute.

Annie Jesperson and Nathaniel Talbot are in their third year of farming on the island. After completing Greenbank Farm’s Farm-er Training Program in 2011, they are now beginning their second year of commercial production. The steady supply of carrots, kale, collards and beets kept the Food Bank stocked with local vegetables throughout the winter, while giving much needed rest to the Good Cheer Garden, its associated gardens, and all the volunteers who work so hard throughout the summer months!

Community Gardening Leadership Training The educational components of the proj-

ect are under the direction of Cary Peter-son, Good Cheer Garden Coordinator, and Karen Korbelik, Good Cheer Food Bank Manager. The four young adult apprentices come from across the US and Canada to participate in Fresh Food’s Community Gardening Leadership Training. As part of the Leadership Training, now in its third year, the apprentices develop skills in ag-riculture, community leadership, garden-based education, and the Food Bank. Apprentice Alexa MacAulay will be tak-

ing a leadership role in the Westgarden at the Whidbey Institute, and Camille Green in the Good Cheer Garden.The Fresh Food Gardens where vegetables

are grown for the Food Bank become out-door classrooms for a diverse range of chil-dren and adults. The Langley Middle School garden and

the South Whidbey Academy gardens (for-merly Bayview School Garden) provide

“I’ve made fresh raw greens and fruit the larger part of my diet for the last few months, with great health results. I’ve lost 30 pounds... my chronic sinus congestion is gone... I can breathe much easier, and my arthritis pain is less.” - Food Bank Client

“I have been partially unemployed and now I’m recovering from cancer surgery.

I was advised to eat healthy and coming to the Food Bank has helped to make that possible.”- Food Bank Client

Reserve your place at the table online for freeDon’t miss this amazing community fund-

raiser with delicious food, laughter, music, and dancing. See www.GoodCheer.org, www.GoodCheerGarden.wordpress.com and Good Cheer’s Facebook page for more details.

There are 100 inside seats (and more out-side) for the April 28 Fresh Food on the Table banquet at the Whidbey Institute. Reserve your space today at the online link in green below.

FreshFoodOnTheTable.brownpapertickets.com

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Good Cheer’s new truck: a wish come trueWe get really excited at Good Cheer when

a wish comes true. We have been wishing for a new truck for a very long time. While we were wishing, we were also

working to find the funds to purchase a new truck with a lift gate that could handle the large pallet loads of food we pick up twice a week in Kent as well as at local grocers. Thanks to many donors and a large grant

from Boeing Employees Community Fund, we finally bought our new truck.This new truck will allow us to pick up

food and still be able to pick up furniture donations in a much more timely fashion. Last year alone, our truck picked up

292,709 pounds of donated food from local grocers, NW Harvest and Food Lifeline. Now we can pick up the food and maybe that many pounds of furniture from you.Your donations of furniture and other

items are crucial to funding our Food Bank. Remember that shopping at Good Cheer Thrift Stores feeds your neighbors.

Call 360-221-6494 to schedule a pickup of furniture.

According to Dean Runyan Associates report on the impact of spending, every $68,860 spent locally supports one job. Imagine if each person on South Whidbey

(approximately 15,500 people) spent $4.60 a month more on South Whidbey every month: 12 more jobs would be created by the end of one year. Good Cheer is committed to shopping lo-

cally whenever possible. Our mission to create a hunger-free community does not start with the Food Bank. It starts with helping to build up our local economy. We purchase as many supplies and services as possible on South Whidbey. With our Thrift Stores, we have the op-

portunity to help out our local economy by giving incentives to shop local. Every Tuesday, Good Cheer Thrift Stores

give a 10% discount to any shopper who produces a receipt from a South Whidbey business. The receipt must not be older than 7 days and needs to be from any business in Clinton, Langley, Freeland or Greenbank. A customer brought in her receipt from her dentist visit to get her discount.

With every dollar spent in a local busi-ness, you help create new jobs or support employees who are already working here. When you shop at Good Cheer Thrift

Shops, you help feed your neighbors who are in need of food. Every time you spend that $4.60 a month

more on South Whidbey, you know you

10% TUESDAYS program helps build the local economy

South Whidbey’s Coupon Queen and Good Cheer volunteer, Ula Lewis, rou-tinely dedicates over forty hours a week as a volunteer wielding her stash of coupon “cash” to find fabulous food deals for Good Cheer Food Bank. Her most recent result: 144 boxes of cere-

al, all purchased for 38 cents or less... plus 44 gallons of milk as a bonus. Ula put out a plea for coupon doublers on

Drew’s List with great results. Thanks Drew, and thanks, Ula, for your

vision and dedication, and to your crew of family and friends.

have done your part to help grow our local economy.

144 boxes of cereal for less than 38 cents each

▲ Volunteer Scott Stark and Food Bank Manager Karen Korbelik with some of the coupon purchases.

Our mission to create a hunger-free community does not start with the Food Bank. It starts with helping to build up our local economy.


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Where does the food come from?Week in, week out, our clients depend upon

the Food Bank to supplement their fam-ily’s food needs. That requires a lot of food: 650,219 pounds to be exact. That’s the total number of pounds of food that Good Cheer distributed to local families last year.Every pound of food that is donated, pur-

chased or grown on premises for the Food Bank is weighed and logged before it is put on the shelf. About 40% of the food is purchased by the Food Bank with money from community donations, leaving 60% the result of in-kind donations. Some businesses give both food and monetary donations. Payless Foods in Freeland, for example, donated 43,535 pounds of produce last year as well as gave $14,629 as a result of their ‘bring your own grocery bag’ in-store program. Other organizations, such as local

churches, donate money ($13,419 total last year) and hold seasonalor monthly food drives, or even collect food each week.Many of our financial supporters are

also double supporters, donating their time working in Good Cheer’s gardens or bringing in extra produce from their home gardens. The percentage of locally grown produce is 3% of the Food Bank’s total food pounds, with plans to steadily increase the volume year by year. This is significant when realizing that a pound of kale is much larger in volume and more nu-tritionally dense than a pound of rice. Though measuring food in pounds is

In the past 10 years, in-kind food donations have grown from 60,000 pounds to 381,067 pounds in order to meet increased community needs.

These in-kind food donations pro-vide the variety that makes Good Cheer Food Bank so appreciated by local families in need.

Your donations of gluten-free foods, low-sodium and low-glycemic foods help people who are on special re-stricted diets.

With summer approaching, we are especially grateful for vegetable and fruit donations from home gardens.

In-Kind Food Donations Pounds %Northwest Harvest 91,540 14

Food Lifeline 71,883 11

Albertsons - Oak Harbor 53,084 9

Businesses, Clubs, Schools & Individual Donations 43,965 9

Payless Foods - Freeland 43,535 7

Goose Community Grocer - Bayview 32,667 5

Safeway - Oak Harbor 18,728 3

Locally Grown (gardens, gleaning, market donations) 18,133 3

South Whidbey Churches 7,532 2

perhaps not the best way to make compari-sons as to food value, it does provide a useful and measurable metric.

NorthwestHarvest

91,540 lbs.

Food Lifeline

71,883 lbs.

Albertson’s - Oak Harbor

53,084 lbs.

Businesses, Clubs, Schools, Individuals

43,965 lbs.

Payless Foods

43,535 lbs.

Goose Grocer

32,667 lbs.Safew

ay 18,728 lbs.Locally grow

n 18,133Churches 7,532 lbs.

3% of the total pounds were locally grown

produce

Purchased Food Made Possible By Your Monetary Donations

269,152 lbs.(40% of total)

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Volunteer finds Good Cheer a great place to connect with community

Last year Good Cheer began to make Sunday pick-up runs from Albertson’s and Safeway grocery stores in Oak Harbor for boxes of still-usable produce that was due to be rotated out of the presentation cases. Boxes of produce such as lettuce, brocco-

li, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, apples, mushrooms, and bananas are brought back, weighed, culled through, and then pack-aged for our produce bins and Food Bank refrigerator. When the doors of the Food Bank open on

Monday, these ‘just-in-time’ produce items are already available to clients.We are very grateful to our donors up

north who provide these items that would otherwise go unused. And we are thankful to our Good Cheer team of Sunday volun-teers who make this possible.

▲ Sunday volunteers Rick Bell, Robin Bell (staffer), Josh McElhenny, Robert McElhenny, Susan Posch and Darrell Posch

Sunday Oak Harbor pick-up team brings back boxes of produce

When Pete Little and his wife, Mokihane, relocated from Hawaii to Bayview three years ago, they moved just up the road from the Food Bank. “I would pass it on my walks,” he said, “but

I had no idea what it was all about.” That is, until he learned that Good Cheer was looking

for volunteers to help with the garden, and specifically, to install a donated greenhouse.With his construction background, he vol-

unteered to help with the project, then began to volunteer in the garden, which he loves. From there, he

began volunteering in the Food Bank, putting produce out from the Sunday Oak Harbor pick-up runs and also the Monday Northwest Harvest pick-up run.

“I was looking for a way to get involved with my new community, and Good Cheer has been a great place to get con-nected,” he said.He also made a connec-

tion on behalf of the Food Bank when he learned that Bayview Hall was seeking to install an elec-trical stove and wanted to move on their propane stove which was in great condition.

Voila! A connection was made and Good Cheer has a much-needed almost new stove.“I like volunteering at Good Cheer, get-

ting to know other volunteers and staff, and greeting the clients. Karen (the Food Bank manager) even cooks us breakfast!,” he said.

◄ Pete Little stocks the produce bins at the Food Bank Monday mornings and checks what Food Bank Manager Karen Korbelik is cooking on the new stove (above).


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What fresh garden produce means to Food Bank clients

The Gleeful Gleaners of Good Cheer har-vested over 6500 pounds of fresh fruit in 2012, our third season. That’s over three tons of tree fruit that would otherwise have gone to waste, including tons of apples, piles of pears, plenty of plums, and a boun-ty of Asian pears. We even picked some kiwis and grapes! Generous tree owners in the community

shared their extra fruit, and big-hearted volunteers scouted the trees, organized picking teams, harvested, delivered the goods and made sure that fresh food got to people who could use it, through the food bank and other organizations. We encourage people who can harvest

their own fruit to donate their extra to Good Cheer; we gleefully help people who can’t pick their own good quality tree fruit who have extra to share.

Now we’re planning for 2013’s harvest and rounding up some equipment to help us bring in even more fresh food for our community. Do you have any extra pick-ing equipment? We could use pole pickers, picking bags, and an orchard ladder (or three). If you happen to have any equip-

Picking apples with the Gleeful Gleaners was a very positive community service experience for our 3rd grade Brownie Troop. The girls worked as a team to pick the apples, then sort them by quality into boxes. They picked over 75 pounds of “perfect” apples in under an hour that they got to hand deliver to the Good Cheer food bank. It was very meaningful because they were able to see their efforts weigh in and know they were helping to provide healthy food to clients of the food bank, fresh food that might otherwise drop on the ground and be wasted. They look forward to having fun gleaning next year!

Jenny Staats, Leader, Brownie Troop 43514

Do you have any extra picking equip-ment? We could use pole pickers, picking bags, and an orchard ladder (or three). If you happen to have any equipment to donate, we’ll put it to good use!

Gleeful Gleaners look for volunteers and tools for seasonment to donate, we’ll put it to good use!Generous tree owners provide the re-

source, and volunteers make it happen. One special group of volunteers had lots of fun bringing in a fresh harvest, according to their troop leader. (See comment below.)

Food Bank clients were recently asked to fill out a questionaire about the fresh pro-duce component of the Food Bank. One question was whether they had no-

ticed health benefits as a result of eating fresh, locally grown vegetables. Responses included:

• After chemo/radiation I needed them more than ever

• Eyes are better and no colds for over a year• Stronger and more resistant to colds• Less arthritis• Yes - losing weight• I eat more of it and it fills me more.• More energy• Yes, feel better, lost weight!

• No colds all year• I am very pleased that this Food Bank can

provide such quality local food which I eat as much as possible.

On the question of how the fresh, locally grown produce has made a difference in their life, here are a few of the many re-sponses:

• My child thinks this is the best kale on Whidbey Island. “The Garden “ROCKS!”

• Gone down 150 lbs. in weight, healed of lots of ailments.

• The fresh food is not only more nutri-tious, it is also a learning experience. I’ve learned how to cook and eat fresh veggies in many new ways. LOVE IT!

• Easier to control my blood sugar

• Better food, better attitude, better health.

• I have never had kale before. Now I eat it with every meal.

• I never liked fresh, leafy greens until I be-gan eating really fresh greens from the garden. I’ve even made my own lettuce garden so I can always have fresh baby greens for my salad.

• During this bad time it feels good to know you have our backs. Thank You 100%

• My breakfast habit is a stir fry of onion, kale, rice and egg. I’m fueled for the day! I am not tempted by worthless caloric breakfasts… Dine like a king at breakfast, a prince at noon and a pauper at dinner! Good Cheer fuels me!

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Clyde Theatre’s ‘Magic Change Jar’ just keeps on giving

Good Cheer holds a quarterly meeting for our volunteers not only to show how much we appreciate their service, but that we also highly value their feedback and suggestions for ways to improve our services. In December, it was a lovely dinner put

on by the South Whidbey Assembly of God Church. In March, it was a simple meal accom-

panied by a forum to get some feedback from our volunteers.Volunteer Coordinator Duane Gimbel

led us through a facilitated meeting start-

Volunteer Forum: celebrating success, brainstorming improvementsing with what there was to celebrate, fol-lowed by volunteer ideas on what can be improved.Volunteers shared how great it felt about

being a part of such a caring community and how they were proud to help Food Bank clients maintain their dignity during challenging times. Volunteers from the Thrift Stores, Good

Cheer Garden, and the Gleeful Gleaners expressed that they were happy to be wel-coming agents of the spirit of Good Cheer.There was a lively discussion about im-

proving certain details of our operations,

and committees were formed, with many volunteers and staff stepped up to work on the various ideas. This will continue the tradition of uti-

lizing all of our resources to continually improve our systems.Our next quarterly meeting will be in

the summer with a barbecue at the Good Cheer Garden. Past, present and future volunteers are welcome.For more information on volunteer op-

portunities at Good Cheer, please con-tact Duane at [email protected] or just stop by any Good Cheer location.

Every March and April the Clyde Theatre places a ‘Magic Change Jar’ at the con-cession stand. What makes it a “magic” change jar? The donations are multiplied through matches (up to $250 each) from The Clyde, Island Athletic Club, and Lindsay Communications, plus an anonymous donor.It means every $1 put in

that jar (up to the $250 match maximum) turns into $5. If patrons put in $250+, the des-

ignated charity now gets $1,250+.In 2012 the MCJ passed on a total of

$6,792 to six local chari-ties ($985 to Good Cheer). In 2011 the MCJ passed on a total of $6,652 ($1,380 to Good Cheer). This year, in addition to

spare change, The Clyde held a March soup drive for Good Cheer and donated more than 150 cans of soup to the Food Bank. Good Cheer will continue to re-ceive monetary donations via the MJC through April.◄ Lynn Willeford holding the

Magic Change Jar.


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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

Jim HartleyMaury HoodTom NackBob OlsonJanet PloofLouise PrewittJay RyanKay StanleyBill WattsGene WhiteJohn Worthington

Executive Director Kathleen McLaughlin McCabe

March Madness Team Scores for Good Cheer

Congratulations to Good Cheer’s own ‘March Madness’ team who placed third in this year’s charity basketball game held March 24 at South Whidbey High School. From left, Don Zontine, Steve Harkey, Nick French, Nate Hanson, Jordan Parrick,

Madi Boyd, Leo Black, Shawn Nowlin. Picture front and center: Lucy Nowlin and RJ Barker. Thank you to all who showed up to cheer on our team!

Congratulations to Good Cheer Thrift Shopper Linda Haas (above) who was a run-ner-up in the Seattle Times Thrift Shop Con-test. Linda has thrift shopped for 45 years. She buys things in any size and alters them to fit. This outfit cost $36, including her boots. More than 400 people entered the contest, including many Good Cheer patrons.

And speaking of ‘thrift-shopping’... ‘Thrift Shop’ is a currently popular Mackl-emore and Ryan Lewis song. Watch a Whidbey Young Life parody of the song shot in our Clinton Thrift Store on our new online blog “The Daily Munch.”Visit www.GoodCheer.org.

Documents

Spring 2013 Good Cheer Newsletter