Anyone who ever visited ShareNet and took a serious look around knew we worked with some pretty serious space constraints.
The huge increases in clients served that ShareNet has seen over the past few years is not peculiar to us.
With great humility and appreciation, we thank the hundreds of local individuals, businesses and service clubs who, working together, responded to Neighbor Aid.
As thoughts turn toward the upcoming holidays, they also turn to the subjects of sharing and giving, which after all are the best ways to celebrate the season. Food banks are a great example of how a community shares among itself, redistributing food or resource surpluses in one area to serve food shortages in another, namely folks struggling with hunger and other poverty challenges.
Between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011, ShareNet provided food assistance 9,578 times. During the same period, 260,929 pounds of food was distributed. We’re astonished by those numbers and the rapid growth of ShareNet since 2007-08 when our assistance numbers were closer to 2,500.
During super-lean college days, I recall telling coworkers at the job which supported my education that buying fruits and vegetables was more expensive than, say, sandwich bread and baloney. They were all working above me, middle-aged, and making enough that grocery prices weren’t a worry to them. They looked at me in disbelief.
Asmall but dedicated group of volunteers began planting Kingston Farm and Garden Co-op’s Giving Garden on May 14. The garden will benefit local schools and food banks, including ShareNet.
The clearly passionate group had the good omen of a mild, sunny day for their start, all too rare this spring. The Co-op does not have its own site yet, but Farrago Farm and Vineyard owners Kathy Curry and Paul Hughes donated land for the Giving Garden.
It’s not a fact we like to think about, but many kids in our local schools go through their day hungry, causing lack of energy and focus, inhibiting their ability to learn.
School food programs help address this problem, but what about the weekends?
ShareNet was founded with a giving heart and has served for 22 years in the generous spirit of its community donors and volunteers.
We usually profile volunteers who have been with us for a while, but now and then a newcomer’s contribution really stands out. No volunteer has been more generous with her time and heart recently than Sherri Luxon, who has been with us since last summer.
What if…. You were so hungry you were light-headed, weak, or couldn’t think straight? You were threatened with eviction or…
ShareNet provided more than 165 new, well stocked backpacks to struggling families in our community at our Back to School…
ShareNet has many thanks to give this month to a community full of helpful people. Way to go Greater Kingston…
ShareNet has been elected to serve on the Membership Agency Council of Food Lifeline, Washington’s leading hunger relief agency. ShareNet…
May 8 marked the annual National Association of Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger National Food Drive, commonly referred to as…
As our year-end statistics came together, we wanted to share them with the community that made them possible, as well…
ShareNet would like to sincerely thank our community for supporting Neighbor Aid 2009, and providing us with $62,880 for our…
ShareNet had plenty to be grateful about this Thanksgiving. We were able to serve 213 Thanksgiving Holiday boxes, which is…
This article must strike a balance between optimism for the community we serve and the community that supports us (not…
ShareNet has become an Albertsons Community Partner, which means 4 percent of what you spend at Albertsons will be donated…
Nutrition is an interesting issue at food banks. In the history of food banks, it was often an accepted notion…
