As we head into the holiday season, I wanted to update the community on the wellbeing of the Ocean Park Food Bank. Last year we received over $47,000 as part of the Corder Foundation matching grant fund-raising program. This was incredible! So far this year, we have spent $48,500. This does not include expenses for November. Our previous year, we spent $38,000 on food, so this is a significant increase.

Covid changed our business in many ways. For a while, we had fewer clients coming in because people were getting significantly larger unemployment benefits and food stamp allotments. We also were receiving a lot of surplus food that the federal government was buying. Starting in January, we found we were getting significantly less food and our client turnout was increasing every month. Our food inventory is now at an all-time low.

Now that inflation has hit, we find we are paying a lot more because prices are higher and we are buying more food because our warehouse deliveries are down. Every month we buy locally eggs, cheese, milk, bread, bananas, chicken hot dogs, and peanut butter. We also provide special meal items for Thanksgiving and Christmas, including whole chickens, hams, stuffing, cranberries, gravy, whole pies.

We would like to thank Jack’s Country Store and Okie’s Thriftway Store for their generous in-store holiday promotions which provide hundreds of pounds of food. We also would like to thank the Peninsula Senior Center for sponsoring a Reverse Advent food donation program. Of course, we receive hundreds of pounds of food and cash donations every month from local citizens. We still have our Green Bag Program where we go to people’s home every other month to pick up food donations. This program has lost many donors for various reasons. We welcome any new donors who appreciate the convenience of at-home pick-up. Call 360-244-3969 for more information.

In summary, the Ocean Park Food Bank is providing a valuable service to over 400 families a month. We serve clients from the whole peninsula. We are unsure if the Corder Foundation will sponsor a matching grant program. We should know something in a week or so. Please keep us in mind this holiday season — and also the Ilwaco and Chinook food banks.

MICHAEL GOLDBERG, President

Ocean Park Food Bank