A week to the day before Thanksgiving, Anita Fjermedal walked into the Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH Food Bank with her 2-year-old son. Times have been hard for the family. Fjermedal’s husband was injured on the job and recently had his Labor & Industries claim revoked, leaving the family of five on one income. After the basic bills were covered, it got to the point where they needed food.
“I thought we were going to be OK,” she said.
The Fjermedals story of a young family needing assistance is nothing new. Nearly half of the individuals served this year at FISH have been children, with 355 families visiting FISH for the first time.
FISH, which rents space from the Gig Harbor Eagles on Burnham Drive, wouldn’t be what it is without dedicated volunteers.
Millie Chong, who has been volunteering for the past year, watches the ebb and flow of the bank’s inventory.
“It’s great now,” she said. “Will get us through the next six months.”
The bank’s shelves currently are packed with canned goods and pastas, and its freezers boast a bounty of turkeys. In the back room, volunteers pack paper bags with food staples such as soup, canned vegetables, peanut butter and pasta. Each bag is marked with the number of mouths it will feed and a package date.
Food banks tend to be either in feast or famine mode, Gig Harbor FISH Director Jan Coen said.
“Back in October, there was nothing on the shelves,” she said.
Despite an influx around the holidays, Coen said the Gig Harbor community is beginning to understand the year-round need. While high-demand items such as nonperishable foods are always replenished, items such as soap and razors fly off the shelves as soon as they come in, Chong said.
Most volunteers, like Howard Mondress, have a simple philosophy for their altruism.
“I think, in order to have a more peaceful life, I wanted to extend out care and love to the community,” Mondress said.
For Mondress, the time spent volunteering at the food bank isn’t a sacrifice.
“You get something for it,” he said.
Schools always have been a dependable ally for FISH, and this year was no exception. Coen estimates one-third of the food drive donations came from schools.
Harbor Ridge Middle School recently collected more than 3,500 food items for FISH. Discovery Elementary also is wrapping up a food drive and has collected more then 500 items.
The Purdy Elementary School PTA recently churned out the school’s largest food drive in its history. In the course of two weeks, the school donated 7,000 food items and more than $3,000 to the food bank. Those figures are three times what they were last year.
Schools across the district are currently gathering food, with the hopes of delivering truckloads to the food bank next month.
Throughout the years, the common clientele coming through FISH’s doors is young families who are barely scraping by, Coen said. But that’s no longer the case.
“We’ve seen a dynamic change,” she said.
More 50- and 60-year-olds have walked through the door and asked for assistance. The Social Security checks during the recession just haven’t been enough, Coen said.
“They are finding out they just can’t make it,” she added.
Construction workers who are out of work also have begun to frequent FISH, Coen said.
“It’s hitting every family now,” she said.
FISH’s goal is to be an emergency food service, not a long-term fix.
“We’re the gap,” she said.
FISH also is much more than just a food bank. Other services include providing clothing and household goods, financial assistance, counseling, summer camps, transportation and a Christmas program.
Applications for the Christmas basket and toy program will be accepted from Nov. 30 to Dec. 18.
Hop across the Purdy Bridge and make the drive to the Key Peninsula Community Services building in Lakebay, and the straits get even more dire for the hungry. Much like FISH, KPCS receives donations from a variety of sources, including local supermarkets and residents.
However, unlike the amply stocked shelves at FISH, KPCS’ basement food bank is in need of more donations.
“We’re still fairly empty,” said Brett Higgins, KPCS food bank manager. “It’s hard to keep the shelves stocked.”
In October, the bank spent $8,000 to purchase food that was needed to keep up with demand. The large purchase was only patchwork.
“It lasted a minute,” said Penny Gazabat, KPCS executive director.
The community services operation, which also provides services and meals to seniors, has seen food fly off the shelves in recent months.
The food bank is available once a month per family. However, KPCS also has a monthly commodities program, which provides dried and jarred food.
Client backgrounds and circumstances range from the 18-year-old single mother with two children to an entire family moving back into grandma’s house, supported only by her Social Security check.
“We live in a very low-income area here,” Gazabat said.
Mix that with low donation levels, and that creates a demand problem, she said.
“When donations are down and clients up, we just make it through another week,” Gazabat said. “We’re not going to turn anyone away.”
Not as many senior residents are using the food bank compared with other demographics, Gazabat said. The center does provide senior meals every Wednesday and Friday at noon, along with exercise classes and shopping days specifically designed for seniors.
KPCS is smaller than FISH, providing 6,700 people with 60,000 meals last year. But November has been a busy month for the Lakebay-based food bank, Higgins said.
In nine days earlier this month, the food that came from the basement and into the homes of families across the area equaled 5,400 meals.
“Our goal is three days worth of food, no matter what size the family,” Higgins said. “We know that we give more, but that’s our primary goal.”
There also are some perks that don’t require becoming a client. A bread closet is available to the community four days a week.
“If we can supply them with bread and they don’t need to be a full-blown client, that’s the best scenario,” Gazabat said.
Each client who requests help begins with a pre-made list. The starting point includes but isn’t limited to cereal, soup, tuna, peanut butter, macaroni and cheese and toilet paper. Canned goods also are a staple.
After the basics are covered, clients can request other items such as soaps and pet food. If they qualify, clients also can receive up to $20 in vouchers to shop at the Peninsula Market for meat, produce and dairy.
And although the shelves aren’t stocked as high as he’d like, Higgins knows he can hedge his bets on one notion.
“If they need food, we give it to them,” he said.
Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH Food Bank hours are: Monday, Thursday and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Those who are interested in volunteering at FISH may call 253-851-8800 or 253-858-6179.
To apply for services at the Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH Food Bank, patrons must:
Be in an emergency situation
Have a valid photo ID
Proof of residence in Gig Harbor or on the Key Peninsula
Social security number for each family member claimed
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (except second and third Friday of each month) from 10 a.m. to noon, and from 1 to 3 p.m.
Wednesday from 11 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
For more information, call KPCS at 253-884-4440.
To apply for services at the Key Peninsula Community Services Food Bank, patrons must have:
Recent piece of postal mail proving you live on the Key Peninsula
Picture ID
Meet income eligibility. For example, a family of three must make $2,823 or less per month. For a single person, it is $1,670.00 or less per month.
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