Warm Holiday Greetings from the Team at Ballard Food Bank
As 2023 draws to a close, we’re so grateful for everyone who has helped us carry out our mission of bringing food and hope to our community.
Here are some of the ways we worked to bring festive joy to our neighbors this month:
The café folks and 18 volunteers came together on a Saturday to make 1000 tamales. Frank Espinoza, volunteer extraordinaire and tamale lead, declared it Ballard Food Bank’s first annual Tamalada! Kindness Cafe Manager Nat said: “It was so much fun and awesome to have so many hands pitching in. We served them in the café on Monday as a special holiday treat: 700 meat and 300 vegetarian. Everyone loved them.”
Food Access Coordinator Lily worked with the schools in our Weekend Food for Kids program to provide extra food for kids to take home for Seattle Public Schools’ winter break. Staff and volunteers filled 1,091 bags of easy-to-prepare, nutritious food!
Senior Manager of Food Access Ysa kept home delivery clients in mind, thinking that it might be difficult for them to go somewhere else to access food during our holiday closure. Thoughtfully, every home delivery pack she led had extra items in it. With a tricky double Monday closure, the team did extra deliveries and an extra pack in the warehouse prior just before the break.
Director of Operations Anthony and select staff members and volunteers will be doing grocery recovery pickups on New Years Day to make sure we have enough food for our neighbors when we reopen on the 2nd.
We are so thankful for you - our caring community - and all the ways we continue to show up for each other in this year and the next.
Food. Hope. Love. Happy Holidays from all of us at Ballard Food Bank!