Port Angeles Mobile Market Helps Ease Summer Hunger
Jamie Sheraton works full-time as a drug and alcohol counselor in Port Angeles, but she also has a second full-time job: raising a 17-year-old boy alone.
“My son is 6’3”, and a football player. I have an eating machine at my house”, she says with a laugh.
Jamie is at Peninsula College to visit “The Market,” a mobile food pantry run by the Port Angeles Food Bank. Today, she gathers fresh produce, pantry items, and frozen proteins. While she makes enough for the bills, feeding a growing boy is tough.
“I have enough for my rent. Enough for my bills. And for gas. Then the kiddo needs football shoes or allergy testing, and it’s a struggle.”
Especially during the Summer.
“During the summer, he eats like three kids. There are sports, and there’s eating. That’s summer.”
Jamie’s is just one of many families served by The Market. According to Port Angeles Food Bank Administrator Alex Ketchum, The Market is on the road five days a week, making ten different stops along the way. The program serves housing complexes, senior housing, churches, and Peninsula College.
“It was essentially to replace a program where we delivered door-to-door in the community that began during the pandemic”, says Ketchum. “It was great, but it grew rapidly to a point where it was unsustainable. We were doing 800-900 deliveries weekly. So, we had the idea of the mobile market. A whole different approach. Why not have people meet us halfway? And bring the mobile market to community locations.”
Today, The Market serves more than 900 people and families every month—many like Jamie, who need extra help when the kids are home from school.
“This is such a help. I’m not sure what we would do without it. I work full-time and can’t work a second job because I need to be there for him. So, we feel very blessed to have this here.”
And for the Port Angeles Food Bank, it’s a great idea, well delivered.
Especially during the “season of eating.”
“Meeting people halfway, we can get to the people and spread that food around. There’s something special about meeting them near their homes and getting them the food they need.”
-Port Angeles Food Bank Administrator Alex Ketchum