Rainer Valley Food Bank Donations at Columbia City’s Tutta BellaIf this story
Published 8:00 am Monday, November 23, 2009
Rainer Valley Food Bank Donations at Columbia City’s Tutta BellaIf this story doesn’t make you a little misty, you may want to check your pulse. Last week brought news of a truly low-down, despicable act: last Tuesday night, burglars broke into the Rainier Valley Food Bank and stole close to $2,000 worth of food, much of which was intended to be part of their Thanksgiving distribution to local families. The situation was summed up perfectly (and heartbreakingly) by RVFB’s executive director Sam Osborne: “The thing is, if someone needed food, they could’ve come in and asked for it, and we would’ve given it away for free.”Now for the good news. As word spread in the days immediately following the robbery, donations to the food bank started coming in. To the tune of almost $100,000. Along with individual cash donations, RVFB received a semi-truck full of food courtesy of Wal-Mart, ten 30-gallon containers filled with donations dropped off at Columbia City’s Tutta Bella, and more than $1,000 worth of produce from PCC. According to the Seattle Times, RVFB received roughly $70,000 in cash and $30,000 in food. The numbers are really stunning. Well done, Seattle. p.s. Just a little pre-Thanksgiving reminder that over 49 million Americans are food insecure, including families receiving food from other food banks throughout King County. It’s not too late to donate. If you’d like to, here’s a list of other emergency food programs.
