Another year of the Food Bank Challenge has ended in success to the community. Every one of us living in south Pacific County served by the three food banks — Ocean Park, Ilwaco and Chinook — should be thankful that these food banks have a dedicated core of volunteers. It’s not just handing out food, but all the work going on in the background we never see or even think about — how to stock those pantry shelves and work all the angles to get the best food pricing. We are lucky to have these dedicated people in our community.

The Food Bank Challenge is no more than what we ourselves put into making it a success. It’s a collaboration between our community with help from the Chinook Observer. As I have said many times, donating to the challenge is the perfect gift as it never ever will be exchanged or not wanted. Not only do these food banks offer food, they also offer to many that don’t get out, a chance to talk to those volunteers and have a brief social interaction. It may not seem like much to most of us, but it’s perhaps the highlight to some in our community to have someone care.

The Loren H. Corder Foundation is proud to help in this cause and would like to do more but are constrained by our own funding. We have since day one used only our investment earnings to fund this and other community projects. However, that does create a paradigm — our investment principle although remaining stable is being reduced with yearly inflation. We would have liked to provide more matching funds, but other worthy programs such as Rebuilding Together, our humane society and others were also recipients this year.

From all of us with the Loren H. Corder Foundation, Guy Glenn, Virgina Basil, Nathan Needham and myself — thank you.

CHUCK MIKKOLA

Treasurer, Loren H. Corder Foundation