BFL AND COMMUNITY NEWS
We would also like to Congratulate the winners of our Opportunity Drawings awarded at the game. The winner of the children’s drawing that included a baseball suitable for autographing, a display box for a game ball, and tickets to a future game was DANIEL SCHOPF. Daniel was very excited to win this prize donated by board member Cathie Jett. The big winner of our fundraiser drawing for the 19 inch Color HDTV was Janis Smith. Janis is the mom of one of the Bluejacket players and she had come to Bremerton for the day to watch her son play ball.
Thanks to the Bluejackets team program for giving us the opportunity to do a little fundraising and to enjoy local, hometown baseball.” Patti Peterson, ED
The Bremerton Foodline is proud that one of our youth volunteers, Tucker Alexander, has been selected as one of the two State Honorees for the State of Washington award this year. Tucker was notified of her award in February by Randy I. Dorn, Washington State Superintendant of Public Instruction. The award was presented with a silver medallion and letter of achievement for Tucker locally on Thursday, March 25th at the YMCA Board of Directors meeting. Accompanying this state award will be a check for $1,000 to the designated charity this youth represents.
Since she was 5 years old, Tucker has been serving as a volunteer at the food bank with her Camp Fire club and holding her own fundraising yard festivals raising thousands of dollars for the hungry in her community. In 2009, Tucker turned in over $1,500 gathered through sales of garden produce and flowers, selling crafts, and baked zucchini bread. In receiving the award, Tucker said “The thing I learned the most is that some hard work and planning can make big things happen. I get a great feeling from doing something for other people.”
In our community, state and country, the initiative and energy displayed by young people like Tucker represents a strength of character and courage that promises a bright tomorrow for Tucker and the many people she has helped. On Behalf of the Bremerton Foodline staff, volunteer team, and clients, we offer our admiration and respect for your amazing efforts.
But there’s more to this story… as one of two Washington State winners, Tucker will also participate in a conference with other state nominees this spring in Washington DC. All 102 participants will tour the capital and attend a gala award ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. At this ceremony an additional National Award from The Prudential Foundation will be given to 10 of those state honorees. Each Prudential Spirit of Community National honoree will be recognized with a gold medallion, crystal trophy and awarded a $5,000 check for the nonprofit charitable organization of their choice. The Prudential Spirit of Community Committee will be also be presenting a President’s Volunteer Service Award to these state honorees. Presidents starting with Jimmy Carter have recognized Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and country through this award.
We extend our congratulations to all these remarkable young volunteers for making a difference in so many important ways throughout this country and the world. For more information on this award program, visit www.spirit.prudential.com.” Submitted by Patti Peterson
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Buy Fresh, Buy Organic, Buy Local – A co-op of local food producers has come together to market its products at the new Fresh Local grocery store, which just recently opened its doors at 540 Fourth St. in downtown Bremerton. The store primarily offers whole foods and bulk commodities such as fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, and eggs, but also sells some locally-produced items such as cheese, vinegar, honey and spices.
This summer the Foodline enjoyed the benefit of two Pea Patch plots which were donated by the Peterson family.
The Pea Patch plots were in pretty rough shape since a contractor had graded the topsoil off the former White Blueberry farm site in order to create the new park layout. This meant tilling, amending, and taking away many, many buckets of small rocks to get started, One plot was maintained by Mike & Patti Peterson and the other by a client family who had expressed an interest in gardening when BFL had our spring “Salad Bucket” program. At the spring planning meeting for the gardens we learned that the entire Pea Patch is an organic growing effort. Several other Pea Patch gardeners shared their expertise and we shared our extra garden soil from a donor. There were generous donations of seedlings and planting began in earnest. In spite of a few drainage problems and the delayed growing start due to the cooler temperatures and heavy rain, the plots produced some handsome strawberries, beans, lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, and squashes. Other Pea Patch gardeners also donated their fresh produce which was brought to us by Robin Small, WSU garden coordinator), on a weekly basis. This was a great first time effort for a garden that we intend to continue next year. Between these garden plots and the BUGS raised beds on the east side of building, nutritious and fresh produce can be available for about 4 months through the effort of volunteers. We will be planning the gardens in the spring and need interested volunteers along with donations of organic seeds or soil amendments. A big thanks to Mike and Patti Peterson for all their hard work making the garden plots successful.
Special thanks to Teri Huddleston for helping to set up the BFL recognition night (July 18) and help getting the bicycle donated for the raffle. The game night was a lot of fun for everyone.
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New Door - BFL has a new, secure door on the East side entrance thanks to the hard work of Patti Peterson (BFL vice president) and the following community support:
Door donation from Codel Entry Systems of Tacoma, WA.
Coordination by John Lane , Peninsula Door and Millwork / Parker Lumber, Bremerton, WA.
Installation and installation materials from Wayne Keefer of WRK Construction of Poulsbo, WA.
Many thanks
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HOMELESS are especially hit hard at this time of year when the weather gets bad. The Washington State Coalition for the Homeless has adopted the following legislative agenda for the 2009 session to ensure that basic housing and survival needs are met to the greatest extent possible.
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On Saturday, May 9th, residents across Kitsap County joined citizens across the United States in the “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive sponsored by the the National Association of Letter Carriers, with participation also by rural carriers. In one day, nearly 62,000 pounds of food and personal products were delivered to our agency on behalf of The Bremerton Foodline, St. Vincent de Paul, and The Salvation Army. This will go a long way towards keeping our shelves stocked into the Summer. We are very greatful for the more than 570 hours of volunteer support from the Emery S. Land Crew, Americorps, Flash Flood volunteers, Harrison Medical Center, numerous churches, board members and staff that made this day possible. And of course, it could never happen without the dedicated support of the US Postal Service.
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KING 5 COMES TO BREMERTON FOODLINE
On March 11, King 5 News came to BFL to do a story on chef Chris Plemmons and the work the Washington State chef’s association has done on the Foodbank cookbook. The segment was aired on that night and is available here.
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PEANUT BUTTER PRODUCT RECALL - Bremerton Foodline is informed on a regular basis of products being recalled or otherwise not safe for consumption by our clients. Our policy is to respond to all recall notifications immediately by removing these items from our inventory. For more information see the FOOD SAFETY page.
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SNOW – A big thanks to the BFL workers that braved the snow and kept BFL open. BFL provided 748 Christmas baskets which is less than the 825 anticipated due to the heavy snow which made it difficult for clients to travel to and from BFL.
FRUIT – This is a little late but every year a great deal of fresh, locally grown fruit goes to waste either on the trees or ground. If you have more fruit than you can use, please contact BFL.
A note from the Director: “On Saturday, November 22, more than 150 volunteers showed up at our agency to help us pack 900 food boxes for Thanksgiving in less than 3 hours. Volunteers came from all ends of our community including the East Bremerton Rotary, Camp Fire girls, boy scouts, area churches, local sorority and other friends and family of the Bremerton Foodline. It was a great day, filled with community spirit. Although we planned to serve between 800-900 food boxes for Thanksgiving, up from 750 in 2007, we actually served 935! With lines around the building, and folks waiting two hours before we even opened the front door, the need was greater than even we anticipated. Thanks to the amazing support of this great community, we were able to help all those who asked for assistance.”
On Nov. 20, at the BFL facility the Washington State Chef’s Association unveiled their Food Bank cook book dedicated to providing food bank clients across the state recipes for delicious meals made from ingredients typically available at food banks. BFL will sell these cook books for $1.00 for registered clients and $5.95 to the general public. A new recipe from the cook book will be published on this website once a month [link].
The security gates have been repaired thanks to prompt and reasonable service from FenceCo. Also, thanks to Michael Biggs, PE, President of Washington Engineering for his advice regarding our broken gate. And a special thanks to the Bremerton Central Lyons for donating the cost of the gate repairs.
BFL held their annual banquet on Oct. 11. This was an opportunity for BFL to thank staff, volunteers and community partners. A successful silent auction was held to raise money and dinner was cooked by the renowned Chef Chris Plemmons. The dinner featured a variety of foods representing different ethnic cuisines. Entertainment was provided by the “No Name” ensemble. Monica Bernhard gave a very touching speech regarding daring to hope [link]. The dinner was a success. Good food, entertainment and wonderful company.
Cafe Bella hosts elegant dinner for Bremerton Foodline families. Tara Bruce, owner of Café Bella located at 1554 NE Fairgrounds Rd., Ste. 1A in Bremerton, had a vision to offer her neighbors in need an full course elegant dinner at her restaurant, complete with entertainment roses and lots of joy to go around. Supported by donations from staff members, customers, and suppliers, Tara closed her restaurant to regular customers and opened it up to four couples for an relaxing evening that they otherwise would not have the opportunity to enjoy. It was such a success that she looks forward to doing this once a month going forward. Website [link] to front page article in the Kitsap Sun
Send Hunger Packing – A community wide food drive was held benefiting food banks across Kitsap County and jointly sponsored by Kitsap County Credit Union, American Red Cross, United Moving and Storage, and KPS Health Plans. Businesses, churches, organizations and community groups are encouraged to participate. For more information, contact Jackie at the American Red Cross at 478-7691.
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