It was a $300,000 grant from the C. Keith Birkenfeld Memorial Trust that gave supporters of a new food bank the incentive to go for it.
That’s according to Hoyt Burrows, longtime food bank advocate in Kitsap County, and director of the CK Food Bank.
“One of our former board members told us that if we ever got to where we had a location for a new building, we should ask for a grant from them,” said Burrows. “So once we knew we had a site nailed down, we asked for the grant and we were so lucky to get it.”
The grant was used to make the down payment on the building at 3537 Anderson Hill Road.
“It made a big dent,” Burrows said.
C. Keith Birkenfeld graduated from Bremerton High School in 1956 and became a teacher. He had an undergraduate degree from Washington State University and graduate degrees from the University of Washington and Seattle University. He was an administrator in the Bellevue School District and taught at Seattle University.
His interest in politics and civic affairs led to his working with nine United States presidents and vice presidents and numerous other governmental and industrial leaders.
A lifetime trustee of the Washington State 4-H Foundation, he was a founding board member of the Bellevue Art Museum and a board member of the Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts Association.
For 15 years he was a member of the state board of directors and executive board of Keep Washington Green. He was a lifetime fellow of the Maryhill Museum of Art, a member of the Monticello Cabinet in Charlottesville, Va., a member of the steering committee of the Puget Sound Environmental Learning Center, a director of Kitsap County’s McPherson/Howe Heritage Farm Commission, and a founding member of the Eastside Heritage Center.
He was a lifetime member of the Nehalem Valley Pioneer Association, the Pioneer Association of Washington State, the Kitsap County Historical Society, and the musical legacy society of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. He was a charter member of the legacy society of KCTS-TV, the Seattle area public television network, and the Vissi d’ Arte society of the Seattle Opera Association.
He was a resident of Bainbridge Island and traveled, wintering in Palm Desert, Calif. He was the founder of the Palm Springs Senior Center and lead seminars there. His success allowed him to set up a trust to be shared with others who help people on the Kitsap Peninsula. His trust is administered through the Seattle Foundation, established after his death in 2005.
Claire Bishop, spokeswoman for the Seattle Foundation said the decision to fund the CK food bank wasn’t difficult.
“We were impressed with the way the food bank had saved and planned for their eventual move,” Bishop said. “We also were moved by the way they considered how best to help, support and treat with dignity the people requesting their help. We all hit rough spots in life and it’s so good to know that there are people who care and are prepared to help. We’re very proud and honored to be a part of this supportive network of caring people.”
She said Mr. Birkenfeld believed that his giving would inspire others to give.
“C.K. Food Bank demonstrates this philosophy well,” she said.
Board president Robert Butterton said the Birkenfeld grant was the catalyst for the new building.
“We certainly didn’t know if we would get the grant,” Butterton said. “But they were able to see the vision we had and when they funded us, we knew we were on the way to getting a new food bank.”
It was Butterton’s wife Star who wrote the grant, which took some time. They thought it was probably a long shot, but knew that the Birkenfeld trust was used to fund projects in Kitsap County.
As part of the process, officials of the Seattle Foundation came to tour the old food bank location and talked with Burrows and other board members.
In June of 2013, when the grant came through, the board signed the papers on the building and began plans for the needed renovations.
Actual purchase price for the building was $746,000, Butterton said. What wasn’t covered by the trust was financed and will be paid off over time,
Butterton said the reality of now being able to have everything under one roof with room to breathe is something that the board and staff has dreamed about for some time.
“We’re just so appreciative of the Birkenfeld Trust,” he said. “Without that grant, we wouldn’t have been able to do this.”
The board of directors has an established building fund that will be used to pay down the debt on the new food bank building.Donations are always accepted through the food bank.
