Their biggest need is donations of money, they say. They’ve had to hire a security guard to keep order as there were some neighborhood complaints about some of the homeless people causing problems. They have to pay for the electricity to keep the freezers and refrigerators running. By the way, records filed with the State of Washington’s Secretary of State show that they spend 98% of their income on program services. You can donate online or by mailing them a check. See http://www.ballardfoodbank.org/Donate.htm

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Yesterday the executive director of the Ballard Food Bank gave me a tour of their facilities and explained the services that they offer. Besides the food bank itself (which offers small amounts of fresh & frozen foods including meat, chicken and fish as well as milk, canned and dried foods, all the bread, fresh veggies and fruit you want) they have a very small area with free clothing, baby food, and a scant few personal hygiene and houseware items. They offer emergency financial help up to $75 per person or family (for those who are about to get evicted, have utilities shut off, or who need bus fare to attend a funeral elsewhere in the country, were examples she gave me). They have a mail service for the homeless and others who can’t receive mail where they live for some reason. They have special foods which don’t require cooking just for homeless people. They also serve hot lunches in a church basement about a block away, on NW 70th. They help people to get in contact with other city, state and federal agencies too.

As a single person I was given a “white card” which entitled me to one item from most of the bins, one of the small packages of frozen meat or fish (any one item such as one fish fillet, one package of beef stew meat, two hamburger patties, etc.), one pastry item, a pint or quart of milk (which they didn’t have any of) and all the bread and veggies/fruits I wanted. Families get a “blue card” which entitles them to two items from the bins, a gallon of milk, one of the larger meat items such as a whole chicken or ham,and two pastry items or one larger one such a a cake. “Green cards” are issued to homeless people which restricts them to foods that don’t need to be cooked, as I mentioned above. By the way, they had a few vegetarian items, like garden burgers in the meat freezer for example.

This time of year most of their fresh fruits and veggies are donated by supermarkets from stuff they pull off the shelves, so everything’s kind of wilty. The director told me that later in the summer they get some incredible stuff from area gardeners (”And I mean incredible”, she said).

Their biggest need is donations of money, they say. They’ve had to hire a security guard to keep order as there were some neighborhood complaints about some of the homeless people causing problems. They have to pay for the electricity to keep the freezers and refrigerators running. By the way, records filed with the State of Washington’s Secretary of State show that they spend 98% of their income on program services. You can donate online or by mailing them a check. See http://www.ballardfoodbank.org/Donate.htm

I also noticed a lack of such things as canned tomatoes (they just had a few cans of sauce) and other vegetables, meals in a can (chili, beef stew, chicken & noodles), tuna fish, canned soups (no cream of mushroom soup at all), spaghetti sauce, toilet paper, paper towels, dish and laundry detergent, hand soap. They had no coffee or tea, no sugar or honey, no salt, pepper or spices, no hot or cold cereal. No lunch meats or cheese. No condiments (mayo, mustard, ketchup, salad dressing). No vinegar, no oil. No garlic! If you live in Ballard, Queen Anne or Magnolia those food donation barrels in the supermarkets go to the BFB. I never did remember to buy something for the donation barrel or if I did it was always too much of a hassle to stop at the supermarket’s doorway and fish through my grocery bags to find it. Now that I find myself on the receiving end, I wish I had done and that more people would take the time. Anyway, these are a few ideas of things you can donate which they lack. Don’t bother with dried herbs, they have plenty of fresh ones, at least right now.

I plan to bring some of my old clothes that are still good but no longer fit me when I go back there, as their men’s clothing rack was emty. Donations of clothes and perishables such as fresh or frozen foods need to be dropped off at their location (northwest corner of 24th Ave NW and NE 70th St: they have their own building so look for the signs outside: you can’t miss it) during their business hours which are Tuesday through Thursday from 11AM to 3PM. The food bank is only open on Wednesdays and Thursdays but their office is open on Tuesdays too. Clothes donated here go directly to those who need them at no charge, as opposed to charities that offer to pick up bags of clothes that you leave on your doorstep for them and who turn around and sell them to Value Village and other thrift stores.

I have no idea if things like pots, pans, utensils, dishes and silverware are needed. You could call or send email and ask. I didn’t see anything like that there, though, and they probably don’t have room for them anyway.