Conversations on the Dock: Jeff Thungc, Lu Mien American association
We love talking with partner agencies when they come in to pick up food. We’ve started a new interview series, “Conversations on the Dock,” to share more about our partners’ work and communities: who they are, what inspires them, and how they are approaching the challenges facing them. We recently spoke with with Jeff Thungc who runs the Lu Mien American Association. He shared how they created a consortium to fundraise to buy culturally relevant food. Through that process, they identified Food Lifeline as a key partner, providing access to a wide range of greens, produce, and herbs commonly used in Asian cuisine. Watch our socials for more interviews @foodlifeline.
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Tell us about your organization.
I am with the lu Mien American Association We’re the center of a consortium…pretty much a collective of organizations that are coming together to support each other.
We used to have a distribution center in downtown Renton, but now we’ve lost the facility, and individual groups pick up for and from each other.
We pool together our efforts and resources, like money to rent a U-Haul and pay for gas on a weekly basis.
Today, we’re shopping the dock for Mien Evangelical church and tomorrow, with the U-Haul truck, we’re picking up our order that goes to the lu Mien American Association, the Filipino Community Center, and two local Vietnamese Associations.
How did you come into your relationship with Food Lifeline?
Back during the pandemic, we did a lot of work to help the community with food security and we got some donations from the Department of Agriculture. There were whole semi trucks of food, but foods like dairy and milk that didn’t fit our diet.
We decided as a consortium to fundraise to buy ethnic, culturally relevant foods for our community. Through that process, somebody had introduced us to Food Lifeline. They shared that Shop the Dock has fresh produce, and most Asian people eat a lot of greens. So instead of individual organizations, we decided to have one organization apply as a consortium, and to support each other.
What culturally relevant foods are your communities looking for more of?
Lots of produce.
So cabbage, onions, green onion, garlic, cilantro, ginger, other types of lettuce, mustard greens, fruits.
Protein – meats and eggs are popular too.
What is your favorite part about serving your community?
I have been serving the community since I was in high school, and I have seen the ins and outs, the highs and lows. One thing that really struck me the most is how a lot of our families came to the U.S. when everything was cheap so they’re living in the Seattle area and its hard for them to move as inflation goes up. Now, everything costs so much and I notice in some families, they’re working 2-3 low paying jobs to make ends meet. They would tell stories about choosing not to buy food so they can afford their rent and utilities. That’s pretty tough, and it really touched me. Finding a way to help them be whole, particularly with food, is just the best part of it. That’s why my wife and I take off every Thursday and Friday morning off work to come here and help with this program.”