Donations still important for Moses Lake Food Bank

MOSES LAKE — The need for the services provided by the Moses Lake Food Bank is year-round. From that it follows that the food bank needs donations year-round.

The Moses Lake Classic Car Club donated $775 to the food bank Jan. 9, the club’s largest donation ever, said MLCCC President Dave Robins. 

Food bank Director Peny Archer said the donation was appreciated.

The food bank is the recipient of a lot of donations, both food and money, during the holiday season, but donations decline once January arrives, Archer said. Potential donors may be struggling themselves, she said.

“People are overwhelmed,” she said. 

The food bank was bustling early Monday afternoon, workers and volunteers helping people load cars with their food, while others waited in line. It’s located at 9299 Beacon Road NE, across State Route 17 from Home Depot, right off the Grape Drive roundabout. 

Workers and volunteers sorted donations of food - canned vegetables, dried fruit, cheese, rice and beans — in the warehouse. Archer said pallets of food had filled the floor space in front of the row of shelves along the warehouse's back wall a few days earlier, but there were big gaps in that lineup of pallets by Monday morning. 

Winter brings with it the need for more hearty foods, Archer said, things like soup, stew and chili. It’s best if the food takes a minimum of preparation. 

“Microwavable would be good,” she said.

Winter or summer the food bank needs what she called kid-friendly foods, peanut butter and jelly, the soups and pasta that can be made without much fuss, she said.

Keeping the food bank running requires a lot of help, much of it provided by volunteers. But cold and flu season takes its toll on the volunteer pool.

“Volunteers are always needed,” Archer said. 

The food bank takes donations of food and money; it’s up to the donor, Archer said in an earlier interview. However, the food bank has the ability to make monetary donations go a long way.

“We do get a bigger bang for our buck than most,” Archer said. 

People who want to donate either food or money can visit the food bank during business hours, 11 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Donations also can be made through the food bank website, www.mlfood.org. There’s a donation tab on the website. Monetary donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 683, Moses Lake, WA 98837.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.

    Ricky Padron, warehouse manager at the Moses Lake Food Bank, moves a pallet of food.
  

    Members of the Moses Lake Classic Car Club get a tour of the food bank’s warehouse from Director Peny Archer, in yellow vest.
  

    Food bank worker Terry Steinfort sorts food bank donations before distribution Monday. While donations often ramp up during the holidays, the need for food and other aid is there throughout the year.