2010 - Bremerton Foodline

2010
The Bremerton Foodline Annual Report
Placing nutritious food on the table, one family at a time.
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Our Mission. The mission of the Bremerton Foodline is to provide
emergency food and referral services, in a caring and respectful manner,
to individuals in need in our community. We strive to eliminate hunger
and improve the quality of life for our clients.
Table of Contents
Letter from the Executive Director and President…………. 3
How we Serve the Community………………………………. 4
In-Kind Donations……………………………………………… 5
Key Projects and Initiatives ………………………………….. 6
Board of Directors and Staff Profile …………………………. 7
2010 Audit Report ……………………………………………………….. Attachment Available on Request
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2010
Letter from the Executive Director and President of the Board
You see the sign when you walk in the door of the food bank lobby, “All Who Come are
Welcome Here”. At the Bremerton Foodline, we remain committed to our 31-year vision of mitigating hunger by ensuring that each and every household in our area has
access to the nutritional food resources they need.
Unfortunately, due to the current economic downturn, the demand for our service in
2010 continues to increase in pace with the lack of living wage jobs and business failure in this economy. The majority of our clients continue to be working families and
seniors who find themselves facing the difficult choice between rent and medical care,
electricity and school supplies, clothing and food. Low-wage jobs and fixed incomes
simply do not go far enough to cover basic living costs in Bremerton. In 2010 we provided 17,283 emergency food boxes to 47,408 individuals free of charge. In the coming decade there will be more families needing assistance as “safety net” programs are
reduced or eliminated.
Despite the record levels of families served, we continue to efficiently manage our
operations with the same experienced and committed team of four part-time staff
members. Yet, our staff cannot do this alone and we are completely dependant upon
the generous support of many local individuals as volunteers, churches, businesses,
grocery partners, and government agencies. It is their donations of time, talent, products, and financial resources that make our work possible.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, Staff, volunteers and clients, we thank you for
your continued commitment to our agency. Working together, we can bring an end to
hunger in our community.
Patricia Peterson
Kimberly Faulkner
Executive Director
President, Board of Directors - 2011
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How We Serve the Community
Emergency Food Boxes
The downturn in this nation’s economy coupled with the rising cost of basic necessities such as
housing, healthcare, transportation, utilities and childcare, is hitting those at the bottom of the economic ladder disproportionately hard. When families find themselves unable to stretch their limited
financial resources far enough, many of them turn to their local food banks for much needed assistance.
Since 1980, the Bremerton Foodline has provided emergency food boxes to individuals in need in
our community, and this remains the heart of what we do every day. In 2010 we provided 17,283
emergency food boxes to 47,408 individuals throughout the year as well as providing over 1,584
Holiday food boxes for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This represents an increase of over 22% since
2006. Contrary to what many might think, most families requested assistance only 3-4 times during
the year, but that picture is changing as those families have no means to supplement or increase
their income. We truly serve as an emergency safety net.
In total, we distributed more than 719,986 pounds of food last year. This food is received from a
variety of sources including community food drives, grocery store surplus, and federal commodities.
We supplement these products with food purchases to ensure we can offer our clients a wellbalanced food box including the major food groups.
Each day, we offer bread, clothing, and produce in our lobby for those families that have already
received their food box for the month and need a little additional help.
During the holidays we provided 1,584 Thanksgiving and Christmas food boxes to local families.
Thanks to generous holiday donations, we were also able to help with a gift for children.
As we look forward, we continually look for opportunities to cost effectively offer our clients a sufficient level of nutritionally balanced food choices. In 2010, we took steps to allocate additional resources to purchase a wider variety of products and expanding our grocery rescue partnerships to
acquire dairy, deli, and meat from local partner grocers.
2010 Age of Clients
Benefitting from Food Service
0-2 years
3-18 years
19-54 years
55+ years
4%
12%
31%
53%
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In-Kind Donations
Contributions of Time, Talent, and Food
Volunteers Are The Heart of
our Agency
We are able to keep our staffing costs
low thanks to our more than 1359 volunteers, community service and community jobs team members. Together,
they contributed more than 20,475
hours of service in 2010.
The Bremerton Foodline is also a work
site for various job training programs
through DSHS . Participants in this
program learn valuable skills in customer service, warehousing, as well as
developing a strong work ethic. Several graduates from these programs
have moved on to unsubsidized employment in the community.
Local Business Partnerships Help Stock Our Shelves
In addition to the tremendous support we receive from churches, organizations, schools, and local citizens, our
agency is able to serve the large number of families we owe thanks to the incredible support we receive from our
local business partners. Hill Moving and Storage donates their delivery services weekly to pick up our donations
from NW Harvest. We receive regular “in-kind” donations of food products from Central Market in Poulsbo,
COSTCO, QFC—Kitsap Way, East Bremerton Albertsons, East Bremerton Safeway, Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut on
6th St., Starbucks, and distributors such as Dairy Fresh, Pepsi Cola, and Coca Cola. In addition, countless businesses in the community hold food drives throughout the year .
Sources of BFL Financial
Support - 2010
Lease
Revenue
3%
Reimbursed
Services
2%
Contributions
41%
CFC &
United
Way
34%
Grants
37%
Fundraisers
9%
Bellringer
9%
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Key Projects and Initiatives
Focused on Improving Client Service
Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)— Several food banks across Kitsap County launched
CSFP which enables 500 individuals to receive an additional 30-40 pounds of nutritionally balanced food
every month. CSFP is specifically targeted to help seniors over the age of 60, post partum and pregnant
women, or children under the age of six who are not on WIC. Bremerton Foodline serves as the general
Client Outreach and Food Stamps Enrollment— Throughout the year we offering limited emergency
assistance to clients in need of help with bus passes, utility bills, and shelter. Our emphasis in 2011 is on
transportation assistance since we have identified that many of our clients may have to walk over 2 miles
to reach us for their food baskets.
Newsletter—We continue to have great success in reaching our individual donors and business partners
through our website, Facebook, and newsletter. In 2010 we reduced our newsletter issues to a total of 3
issues to save costs. We think by sharing our information in the media we give each and every person
real understanding of how their support is making a difference in our community. It has proven to be a
valuable resource for acquiring more volunteers as well as donations.
Kids Summer and Back-To-School Programs— Each year we know that the summer can be very challenging for families with school aged children who won’t be receiving breakfasts of lunches through their
school programs. We provide a supplemental bag of food for children that contains both snacks and food
that can be prepared using only a microwave. As the school year approaches, we hold our annual Back-To
-School Day where clients can select school supplies and clothing that we have collected throughout the
year.
Annual Brunch— Each year we hold an annual event to thank our many volunteers and give recognition
to the countless number of hours contributed each year. In 2010, we specifically recognized persons that
have served us for over a decade with their time and talent by unveiling a new plaque where the Decade
Club volunteers names will be added each year. It is a time of great camaraderie and fun!
The Bremerton Party— In 2010 we collaborated once again with the East Bremerton Rotary to hold this
major fundraising event with a gala benefit that included entertainment, a live auction, and tastes of food
from local area restaurants as well as the Olympic college Culinary Arts program. This event netted over
$13,094 for us in 2010 and promises to be even more spectacular in the coming years.
Gardens Galore—We continue to enjoy a wonderful partnership with the Bremerton Urban Garden Society (BUGS) through the expansion of our facility planting garden beds. In 2010, we also planted 2 plots
at the Blueberry Park Pea Patch and enjoyed the gift of harvested food from the other gardeners. Cllients
were also excited about the opportunity to own a “Salad Bucket” provided from donated seeds, soil, and 5
gallon buckets that they could take home. This was truly a year marked by harvesting food and hope!
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Board and Staff Profile
Experienced and Committed
2011 Board of Directors
Officers:
Kimberly Faulkner—President
Contractor with Todd Shipyard
2008-2011
Dirk VanZanten—Vice President
Retired financial Comptroller
2007-2010
Earl Burt—Treasurer
Mechanical Engineer PSNS
2010-2013
Mary Vincent—Secretary
Olympic College Administrative Staff
2010-2013
Board Members:
Tyler Baker
Engineer PSNS
2010-2013
Mike Benefiel
Retired Engineer, PSNS
2008-2011
Christine Davis
Licensed Massage Practitioner
2011-2014
Cathie Jett
Technician Planner PSNS
2005-2010
Richard LeMieux
Author and Lecturer
2009-2012
Scott Menard
Retired School Administrator
2011-2014
Bremerton Foodline Staff
Patti Peterson
Executive Director
Retired Test Engineer PSNS
Rachel McLeod
Operations Supervisor
Homemaker/Volunteer
Susan Robinson
Office Manager and Outreach Coordinator
Homemaker/Volunteer
Tim Streutker
Driver
Retired US Postal Service
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