Strapped Seattle food bank: 'We need the community'
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SEATTLE - A local food bank that helps nearly 90,000 needy people every year is now in need of help itself.
North Helpline is known for changing lives - by offering so much more than a meal.
"We do food first - yet we do so much more," says Executive Director John Klevins.
The North Seattle food bank is a lifeline for the 1,700 people who come there every week to pick up a generous food basket. But North Helpline also provides clothing and blankets - and it runs a modern free medical clinic.
"This place is about compassion," says Klevins. "This place is about selfless activity, and when you walk in you feel it."
That's what Malika Dundon experienced when she turned to this place after her unemployment and savings ran out.
"I found hope and love and caring," she says. "It's fantastic."
Many are so grateful that they come back to volunteer.
"If this place did not exist, we would have more people on public assistance. We would have more people in the street," says Klevins.
The troubled economy has seen corporate and other private donations dwindle, forcing Klevins to shut down the emergency services program that for 23 years helped clients with rent, utilities and bus passes.
"We need the community to react to the giving ... and give to the givers," says Klevins.
So now North Helpline is reaching out - asking - so it can continue to do its good work.
"To come to a food bank where people are working hard - working so hard from their hearts from the bottom of their souls to cater to the community - I couldn't ask for anything else," says Klevins.
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Visit the North Helpline website to help out with a donation »
North Helpline is known for changing lives - by offering so much more than a meal.
"We do food first - yet we do so much more," says Executive Director John Klevins.
The North Seattle food bank is a lifeline for the 1,700 people who come there every week to pick up a generous food basket. But North Helpline also provides clothing and blankets - and it runs a modern free medical clinic.
"This place is about compassion," says Klevins. "This place is about selfless activity, and when you walk in you feel it."
That's what Malika Dundon experienced when she turned to this place after her unemployment and savings ran out.
"I found hope and love and caring," she says. "It's fantastic."
Many are so grateful that they come back to volunteer.
"If this place did not exist, we would have more people on public assistance. We would have more people in the street," says Klevins.
The troubled economy has seen corporate and other private donations dwindle, forcing Klevins to shut down the emergency services program that for 23 years helped clients with rent, utilities and bus passes.
"We need the community to react to the giving ... and give to the givers," says Klevins.
So now North Helpline is reaching out - asking - so it can continue to do its good work.
"To come to a food bank where people are working hard - working so hard from their hearts from the bottom of their souls to cater to the community - I couldn't ask for anything else," says Klevins.
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Visit the North Helpline website to help out with a donation »
We are so quick to help those on the other side of the country or the other side of the world - but look at the comments when asked to help those closest to us. Â Giving should start at home, in our own neighborhoods, helping our own neighbors in need.
Cough it up we bunch of over bellied fat folks!
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why is it that anyone has to ask for the public for fricken food????????????
 Donate to who? the same people that get free housing, free food stamps, free medical care and free obama phones? enough is enough stop donating to these people.
 @2times Behold the compassionate conservative.
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Let 'em eat cake.
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1) Section 8 housing isn't "free" and the wait list is years long.
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2) Obama phones was a program created by REAGAN (if you would educate yourself) so that rural Americans and the poorest Americans could have access (they get about 250 minutes a month) to 911 services, call a doctor, and oh wait for it, have a phone number to respond to job interviews with. The funding of the program has increased with inflation, just as Reagan signed into law. Every President has extended the program since - including Bush (43).
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3) Medicaid / Medicare are not, ehem, "free," either.
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I think you've watched West Side Story one too many times.
Before going out to buy food to donate check out the food bank's web site. Most times the food banks can buy 10 to 12 times the amount of food for the $ than you can at your local grocery store which means even a donation as small as $5 can be turned into up to $60 worth of food!!!
I have a very close friend who relies on the food banks and I'm told there are several ethnic groups that plunder the local food bank shelves, carrying out cases of food that could feed an army only to be resold at 100% profit. I won't donate again till this is fixed.
 @fumblefacedolt If that is remotely true, that is the fault of the food bank.
 @Howard Beale  @fumblefacedolt I know what you mean. We have fund raisers at work for food, toys, coats, whatever.....and people are compassionate enough to give generously, but also witnessed employees helping themselves to these donation when they thought no one was looking. It's tough to muster up the compassion then. If I give, I give money to the organization. I don't do fund raisers.
 @Howard Beale  @fumblefacedolt I should add an exception to that, when KOMO does fundraisers, I'm not so strict with that policy :)
I will donate some stuff tomorrow, but my local food bank is the one on Rainier, I'll check with them first before donating to the North Seattle one. (I know that my local food bank doesn't get nearly enough either......)
 @yentaleh Thank you.
I made another of my several times a year donations to Northwest Harvest. Have you?
I live in Kitsap County. We donate to HELPLINE in Port Orchard, and The Salvation Army in Bremerton. Everyone of these places needs help. Let's all do what we can. EVERY donation is welcome.
 @Alikelystorey The Salvation Army helped me through a very tough financial crisis when no one (not even our compassionate state government) would help (many, many years ago). They got me and my kids through a very tough time. I 100% support The Salvation Army. They are AWESOME!! I'm kind of sorry to see the kettles go. I know it's dangerous now, with all the criminals helping themselves, but there wasn't a year, when my kids were little, that they didn't each want to drop money in that kettle. And I had kept the tradition going with my grandchildren. Don't see the bell-ringers too much where I live. Sad really.