Since last winter, the Kingston Food Bank has had a home from which to help local people who need food. That’s thanks to a grant from the Pam Foster and Liz Austin Fund, a donor-advised fund managed by the Seattle Foundation.

All of those who value the Kingston Food Bank hoped the Foster-Austin donation would spur more giving to give the Food Bank a stable footing. It did. In a big way.

Michael Szymanski’s bequest of between $70,000 and $80,000 to the Food Bank was as quiet yet impactful as his life. According to an obituary published in his native Delaware, he graduated from the University of Delaware, then served in the U.S. Army in Korea for two years. He reportedly had a career in business, but, according to a column he periodically wrote for Kitsap Week, he was so impressed with what yoga did for his health that he switched careers in the early 1980s and became a yoga instructor, physical trainer and certified massage therapist.

“He loved tending to his garden and friends while enjoying the beautiful and peaceful surroundings of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula,” his family wrote. According to a friend, he lived modestly, without the luxuries many of us take for granted.

According to his obituary, he “passed away peacefully” on July 28 after a brief illness and was interred privately in Kingston.

Then, the check arrived, enough to cover about four years’ rent so the 62-year-old Food Bank can stay at 26102 Illinois Ave., a two-story house next to the Sheriff’s Office. Because of this quiet man’s gift, the Food Bank can concentrate on meeting the needs of its constituents. Keeping a roof over its head is no longer an immediate worry.

The Food Bank meets the needs of approximately 50 families a week. The Food Bank provides school supplies to local students in September. It has clothing for people in need, and hygiene kits for people living without a home. In November, the Food Bank will supply Thanksgiving dinners to those who otherwise would not have one.

Kingston Food Bank clients live closer to the downtown core and are mostly older, homeless or pedestrian. “Ninety percent of our clients walk,” said Bill Fulton, husband of Food Bank director Barb Fulton. In contrast, ShareNet serves a larger area — Kingston, Eglon, Hansville, Indianola, Little Boston, Port Gamble, and some border addresses in Poulsbo and Suquamish. Both are needed in our community.

The organization had to move out of its longtime home in December 2012 after the county determined the building — which is owned by the county — did not meet codes. The Food Bank was given a place to stay until April 2013 by Windermere Real Estate, then moved into Fulton’s 22-foot motor home and went mobile. In October 2013, Fulton moved the food bank into her husband’s small-engine repair shop at 29630 Rash Road, off Parcells Road, three miles from downtown, out of reach for many of the food bank’s clients. Then, the Foster-Austin gift. And now, Michael Szymanski’s bequest.

The Kingston Food Bank has a stable home, for now. Help keep a great thing going and donate to the Kingston Food Bank. The hours are noon to 3 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. The phone numbers are 297-4861 and 297-7100.