Mattawa Food Bank seeks more protein for food distributions
Courtesy photo/Irene Longmire, Mattawa Food Bank Ferrell Coulson, far left, and the rest of the volunteers at the Mattawa Food Bank take a short break from packing boxes on March 28. The Mattawa Food Bank has handed out approximately 400 boxes its last two distributions.
MATTAWA — Making 400 boxes of food is nothing to sneeze at. That is approximately how many boxes of food the Mattawa Food Bank has handed out the last two times it has distributed food.
According to Pam Bunger, president of the food bank, two weeks ago it served 381 families. A month ago, it served 416 families.
“I’m not sure what this coming Saturday will be,” Bunger said.
The Mattawa Food Bank is open the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 1 to 4 p.m. It distributes foods like rice, beans and meat.
One of its biggest needs now is protein. Up until the start of the COVID-19 crisis, the food bank received food through Northwest Harvest in Yakima. But with the increased demand, it was automatically switched to Second Harvest in Pasco.
“They don’t have a good source of protein,” Bunger said. “They focus mostly on fruits and vegetables.”
To help fill in the void in protein, the food bank has recently purchased 400 pounds of ground beef.
“We will be giving that out,” Bunger said. “We also have canned meat.”
With the switch in food suppliers, delivery has also been a problem. For the last food distribution, a volunteer had to make the trip to Pasco to pick up the 11 pallets of food. This week, the same will happen. But starting in May, Second Harvest will deliver.
With COVID-19, the food bank has modified its operations to help prevent the spread of the virus. Those picking up boxes of food are not allowed in the building but do their communications and check-ins through the fence that covers the doors of the facility. Inside the building, volunteers packing boxes are six feet apart.
As the Mattawa area experiences its annual influx of migrant workers and H-2A workers, the food bank will be giving out more food.
“Monetary donations are best right now,” Bunger said.
The Mattawa Food Bank is also accepting donations of non-perishable food, canned meat, canned beans and dried beans.
“We give dried beans, oats and rice with every distribution,” Bunger said. “We don’t give a whole lot. Just a nice amount.”
The Mattawa Food Bank is located at 23898 Road T.2 SW, by the Port of Mattawa and next to Mattawa Tire Center. To make a donation, call 509-830-7885.
Rachal Pinkerton may be reached via email at [email protected].