Responding to COVID-19
AS DONATIONS DECLINE, THE NEED FOR HEALTHY FOOD INCREASES
As a key member of the Food Lifeline community, I wanted to share with you the steps we are taking to ensure the safety of our staff and community while continuing to provide critical services to our clients.
As you know, over half of the neighbors Food Lifeline serves are children or seniors. In times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, those most in need are disproportionally affected. As schools close, students may go without the nutritious breakfasts and lunches they rely on during the school day.  Similarly, access to healthy food is already challenging for low-income seniors and is now exacerbated by the need to limit interactions with others due to their increased risk of COVID-19 infection.
Food Lifeline’s Response
Food Lifeline is actively engaged with the Emergency Operations Center, the King County Executive’s Office and Seattle/King County Public Health to safely mobilize systems that provide continued food access to our community. During this situation, our top commitment is supporting our systems that make sure those most in need have reliable access to healthy food.
Food Sourcing
In-kind donations to Food Lifeline, accounting for 85 percent of the food we source annually, have declined dramatically in the last week. But the need for the nutritious foods has increased.
To respond to these challenges, we’ve shifted to sourcing truckload volumes of essential groceries and hardy produce items. We’re also mobilizing our capacity to pre-pack food boxes that can be directly distributed to families either at neighborhood food banks or through home delivery.
Your Support is More Critical than Ever
In a typical week, 500 volunteers help our staff sort, pack and prepare food for distribution to partner agencies and people experiencing hunger. Out of an abundance of caution we’ve canceled our volunteer group activity and instituted rigorous food safety protocols to prioritize the health of our committed staff and our community.
The steps we are taking carry significant additional costs and present new and logistical challenges. We know our community stands with us and we invite all those who can help us meet emerging needs.
- For every $30 contribution, Food Lifeline can provide healthy, pre-packaged food boxes to feed a four-person family for four days.
- For every $100 contribution, Food Lifeline can source more than 1,000 pounds of nutritious produce or the equivalent of 50 boxes of 20 pounds of fresh produce to one of our 300 partner food banks, meal programs or shelters.
Your support now will make a real-time impact for deserving people in our community. Hunger doesn’t have to happen, especially for those who need us most.
To support Food Lifeline, please call (206) 545-6600 or go to foodlifeline.org/covid19.
Linda Nageotte
Food Lifeline President & CEO
