KINGSTON — It’s Friday at the Kingston Food Bank, 26102 Illinois Ave., and a visitor gets a clear idea on what would be lost if the food bank has to close when the money it was gifted for five years’ rent runs out on Nov. 15, 2019.
The place is humming. Local folks are stopping by with Thanksgiving food donations. Friends ask if they can shelve goods or carry boxes in. Food Bank Director Barb Fulton and her right hand, Barb “Brooklyn” Piperata, make sure people have what they need before they leave.
Like Russell Wilson in the middle of the action, Fulton has her eye on the entire field.
“Come in and grab a sack of potatoes and a turkey bird.”
“Let me grab you some rolls. You don’t have rolls.”
“Mike, do you want coffee?”
“Give me a hug. Be careful out there.”
This has been a life work for Fulton, whose parents founded the food bank in 1952. Over time, she grew from her parents’ protégé to the carrier of their work to the community’s aunt.
Piperata added, “Everybody’s treated special here. Anybody who volunteers, if they don’t have that attitude, they’re out of here.”
The food bank helps 75 families meet their food needs; people who get back on their feet often become food bank volunteers. In addition, Fulton takes food, blankets, pillows and other necessities to a camp of people who are homeless in Indianola.
The food bank stocks kitchen goods (plates, glassware), items for infants and children (books, diapers, clothing), clothing or adults, and hygiene items. The food bank also provides school supplies for local students in September.
Fulton said those who turn to the food bank are older, or don’t have a vehicle, or are without a home, and that’s why the food bank’s near-downtown location is important; the closest alternative is ShareNet Food Bank and Thrift Store, four miles west on Highway 104.
The food bank’s odyssey — from longtime home (the county-owned building reportedly no longer met code) to temporary quarters (provided by Windermere Real Estate) to Fulton’s motorhome — led to this house next to the sheriff’s office near the corner of Illinois Avenue and 104 in 2013. A grant from two local residents through the Seattle Foundation paid for a year’s rent. Then, Michael Szymanski, a local yoga instructor who had terminal cancer, read in the North Kitsap Herald of the food bank’s plight and donated half of his estate to the organization. He died three days later.
Szymanski’s photo is prominently displayed in the food bank. “He saved us,” Fulton said.
Szymanski’s gift runs out in two years. Fulton is hopeful that money will be raised so the food bank can stay at its current site. Rent is $1,100 a month; with overhead, Fulton spends $16,000 a year keeping the food bank under a roof. If she could, she’d buy the site; the 1,363-square-foot, one-and-a-half story house was built in 1900 and has an assessed value of $255,860, according to the Kitsap County Assessor’s online database.
“I don’t want to go back into the motorhome,” she said. That’s understandable; imagine moving 1,363 square feet of goods into a motorhome.
Meanwhile, she and Piperata stay on task.
“It’s just all about giving for us,” Piperata said. “You’ve got to give back.”
Fulton added, “We’re small, but we’re mighty.”
— For information on how you can help the Kingston Food Bank, visit the food bank; write P.O. Box 323, Kingston, WA. 98346; call 360-297-4861. The food bank is open noon to 3 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays.
Cheryl Graham, Gloria Young, Steve Young, and Rita Osborne of the Kingston Cove Yacht Club deliver food to the Kingston Food Bank, Nov. 17. Faith Lutheran Church donated turkeys. Richard Walker/Kitsap News Group
From left, Barb “Brooklyn” Piperata and Barb Fulton discuss storage of donated food items at the Kingston Food Bank, Nov. 17. (Richard Walker/Kitsap News Group)
From left, Barb “Brooklyn” Piperata and Barb Fulton discuss storage of donated food items at the Kingston Food Bank, Nov. 17. (Richard Walker/Kitsap News Group)
The Kingston Food Bank has been a life work for Barb Fulton, whose parents founded the food bank in 1952. (Richard Walker/Kitsap News Group)
Michael Szymanski donated half of his estate to the Kingston Food Bank three days before his death. His gift covered the food bank’s rent for five years. “He saved us,” food bank director Barb Fulton said. (Richard Walker/Kitsap News Group)
