I hope the summer finds you all well, warm and happy. It is Safeway Food Drive time again - and for those of you who have braved volunteering in 38 degree weather in the past, I'm hoping you'll be thrilled with the idea of volunteering in 75 degree weather!

As you will recall, the Safeway drives tend to be busy and lively - so this is a great activity to do with the kids, with friends or with your boy or girl scout troop. We need a large number of volunteers for these drives, so I hope you will join us. Here are the details.

Where: Safeway at 3820 Rainier Ave S
When: Saturday July 18 and Sunday July 19, 2009 from 10-4

What volunteering looks like:
Volunteer shifts are two hours long. During this time, you pass out flyers to people entering the store (the flyers contain a grocery list with our most needed items). Some people will purchase items inside the store and drop them off with you. You give them a warm thank you and a smile and pack the groceries into the containers provided by RVFB.

The stronger of our volunteers may wish to help load bags, boxes or barrels of food into our waiting vehicle.

More details about the event:

• At Safeway, there is an overhang that covers the front entry (where we will be stationed) so we should be in the shade.
• If you are volunteering on behalf of a company, school or team, by all means wear a shirt, hat or jersey and promote your group!
• We strive to have four volunteers at the station at all times.
• We will provide barrels, boxes and handouts for the event.
• You can get more food into a box or barrel if you take it out of the bag. But be careful not to load the barrel TOO full, as they can get very heavy.

Who can help:
EVERYONE can help! This is a great activity for parents to do with their kids – even the little people can hand out flyers to those entering the store and give a hearty “thanks!” to all who donate. Teens looking for community volunteer hours can lend a hand. It is a great event for churches, rotary, etc…

Who should I call if I have questions or if I need to change my shift?

email the food bank info (at) rvfb (dot) org. Or go to the site www.rvfb.org and send an email from there.

Where is Rainier Valley Food Bank located?

RVFB is just a few blocks south of the Rainier Ave Safeway store at 4205 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118. The phone number there is 206-723-4105. See the food bank web site at www.rvfb.org

What else can I do to help?

• Donate money online at www.rvfb.org
• Send a check to RVFB at 4205 Rainier Ave. S, Seattle, WA 98118
• Hold a food or fund drive at your work, school, church or book club.
• Grow food for RVFB or bring surplus from your garden.
• Spread the word – encourage others to join our efforts!

Thanks so much for all of your help! I look forward to seeing you at the food drive.

Michele

If you can spare two hours this weekend to help with a food drive for Rainier Valley Food Bank, we could really use your help. We have a drive lined up – and still have a few shifts to fill. If you are interested please email mweingeist at Comcast dot net. We have openings on

Saturday May 16, 2009 from 12-2 and 2-4 and
Sunday May 17, 2009 from 10-12 and 2-4

Where: The Safeway Store located at 3820 Rainier Ave S

When: Saturday, May 16 & Sunday May 17 from 10 am – 4 pm

What volunteering looks like:
Volunteer shifts are two hours long (10-12, 12-2, 2-4) During this time, you will pass out flyers to people entering the store (the flyers contain a grocery list with our most needed items). Some people will purchase items inside the store and drop them off with you. You give them a warm thank you and a smile and pack the groceries into the containers provided by RVFB.

The stronger of our volunteers may wish to help load bags, boxes or barrels of food into our van.

Who can help:
EVERYONE can help! This is a great activity for parents to do with their kids – even the little people can hand out flyers to those entering the store and give a hearty “thanks!” to all who donate. Teens looking for community volunteer hours can lend a hand, and every community-oriented adult is an able volunteer.

How do I volunteer for this event?
Email Michele (mweingeist at comcast dot net) and sign up for a time and date!

I'm rounding up volunteers for a food drive to benefit the clients of Rainier Valley Food Bank. This has proven to be a great family activity - even kids as young as 5 years old enjoy helping out (especially the more outgoing kids). Please contact me if you are interested in helping.

Where: The Safeway Store located at 3820 Rainier Ave S

When: Saturday, May 16 & Sunday May 17 from 10 am – 4 pm

What volunteering looks like:
Volunteer shifts are two hours long. During this time, you will pass out flyers to people entering the store (the flyers contain a grocery list with our most needed items). Some people will purchase items inside the store and drop them off with you. You give them a warm thank you and a smile and pack the groceries into the containers provided by RVFB.

The stronger of our volunteers may wish to help load bags, boxes or barrels of food into our van.

Who can help:
EVERYONE can help! This is a great activity for parents to do with their kids – even the little people can hand out flyers to those entering the store and give a hearty “thanks!” to all who donate. Teens looking for community volunteer hours can lend a hand, and every community-oriented adult is an able volunteer.

How do I volunteer for this event?
Email Michele (mweingeist at comcast dot net) and sign up for a time and date!

I’m busy these days. How else can I help?

• Drop off a few items at our event as you head out for the day.
• We hold food drives every month. Send your email to Michele for notification of future events or watch our website to find dates www.rvfb.org.
• Make a donation online at www.rvfb.org
• Hold your own food drive and bring the bounty to RVFB (visit www.rvfb.org for a food drive kit).
• Bring extra fruit and veggies from your garden for distribution at the food bank.

Thanks so much for your interest. Hope we see you at the food drive!

Michele Weingeist for
Rainier Valley Food Bank

Rainier Valley Food Bank has a new and different food drive coming up this weekend and I'm hoping a few of you may be available to help out. As some of you may already know, Leschi Market has been a tremendous supporter of Rainier Valley Food Bank over the last six months or so. They do a great deal to provide RVFB with fresh meat and diary products each month.

This weekend, we are going to hold a special food drive at Leschi Market. We are going to pass out flyers that ask customers to help us buy chickens and eggs for our clients. Steve at Leschi Market has set up a special RVFB code at the register so that people can donate $2.50, $5.00 or $10.00 at the register. At the end of the drive, the money will be pooled into a large fund and be used to make a bulk buy (or two - if we are lucky) of fresh chickens and eggs for our clients.

The logistics:

Leschi Market is a small store in the heart of Leschi. We only need one or two volunteers at a time.

The "Chicken and Egg" Food Drive will take place on Saturday, May 2nd and Sunday, May 3rd from 3 pm to 7pm.

Volunteer shifts are two hours (3-5 pm and 5-7 pm) so we need a total of 8 volunteers for the whole weekend.

RVFB will provide the flyers for you to pass out. Leschi Market will collect the funds and work directly with the food bank to order and deliver the fresh chickens and eggs. So, no barrels to fill or load!

If you are interested in helping out this weekend, please email me at mweingeist at comcast dot net. Please notify friends that might be interested in helping out - as we have just a few days to get all of our volunteers lined up.

Thanks very much for considering!

Michele Weingeist for
Rainier Valley Food Bank

Thanks for the note (and for helping out our neighbors)! I'll look into the Paypal problem. I thought we'd gotten that taken care of months ago. I use Paypal to make my monthly donations - but I use the credit card option - and haven't had any issues so far.

Thanks for the heads up.

Michele

If you have two hours that you can spare this weekend, we still have several time slots open for our upcoming food drive and we could really use your help.

If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about the food drive, please email me.

Thanks!
Michele
mweingeist at comcast dot net
Rainier Valley Food Bank

Saturday March 28, 2009

10-12 Full
Blaine Church

12-2 Full
Blaine Church

2-4
Mark D
2.
3.
4

4-6
Barbara R
2.
3.
4.

Sunday March 29, 2009

10-12 Full
Bob N
John N
Margurite R (+1)

12-2
Carrie M (+1?)
Julie B (+1?)
3.
4.

2-4
1.
2.
3.
4.

Also have you fixed the PayPal problem yet? Twice I've donated via PayPal only to be notified a few weeks later that the donation didn't go through due to problems at your end. Until I hear it works, I'm sending a check.

thanks- Laura

I wanted to let you know about (and hopefully recruit you for) two upcoming food drives in March.

Help us raise food and funds in the Feinstein Challenge:
The Feinstein Foundation will award $1 million to hunger fighting agencies this year. RVFB's share of that donation depends on how much money and food is raised in March and April. So, the more we collect, the larger the Feinstein donation, and the more people served (every food item we collect in March and April will count as $1 in the Feinstein Challenge - and of course, every dollar we collect will count as $1)!

Where: The Safeway Store located at 3820 Rainier Ave S

When: Saturday, March 21 & Sunday 22 from 10 am – 6 pm
Saturday, March 28 & Sunday 29 from 10 am – 6 pm

What volunteering looks like:
Volunteer shifts are two hours long. During this time, you will pass out flyers to people entering the store (the flyers contain a grocery list with our most needed items). Some people will purchase items inside the store and drop them off with you. You give them a warm thank you and a smile and pack the groceries into the containers provided by RVFB.

The stronger of our volunteers may wish to help count the collected items, load bags, boxes or barrels of food into our waiting van.

Who can help:
EVERYONE can help! This is a great activity for parents to do with their kids – even the little people can hand out flyers to those entering the store and give a hearty “thanks!” to all who donate. Teens looking for community volunteer hours can lend a hand, and every community-oriented adult is an able volunteer.

How do I volunteer for this event?
Email Michele at mweingeist at comcast dot net and sign up for a time and date!

I’m busy these days. How else can I help with the Feinstein Challenge?

• Make a donation online at [http://www.rvfb.org]
• Send a check to RVFB at 4205 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118 (please note Feinstein Challenge)
• Hold your own Feinstein Challenge food drive and bring the bounty to RVFB (write to info at rvfb dot org for a food drive kit).
• Spread the word about the Feinstein Challenge. Encourage others to volunteer or donate.

Thanks so much for your interest. Hope we see you at the food drive!

Best Regards,
Michele Weingeist
for Rainier Valley Food Bank

During the MLK Day of Service Food Drive, many volunteers and donors asked about the volume of food we collected. So here is a bit of info:

We held drives in three locations and collected approximately 3,125 lbs of food and almost $700 in cash. This is a great accomplishment and really helps Rainier Valley Food Bank provide a variety of nutritious foods for our neighbors.

To try to put this in perspective, the food drive brought in between 16 - 18 full barrels of food weighing approximately 3,125 lbs. In the first six months of 2008, RVFB distributed an average of 10,570 lbs of food per day of service. The last six months of the year, RVFB distributed an average of 14,000 lbs per day, with three months jumping up to 16,000 lbs of food a day. The money that was raised can be used to buy bulk foods to supplement the food collected, or to help pay for activities associated with food collection and distribution.

So, as you can see - your service and contribution will directly help feed hundreds of people this week. That is something that should make you all feel very proud. I know I am certainly pleased and very grateful.

Thank you for making MLK Day so special and for helping our neighbors in need.

Very best regards,
Michele Weingeist
For Rainier Valley Food Bank and our clients

At the Rainier Valley Food Bank, we don't need the news to tell us the recession is here, we see the reality of it every week. In May 2008, we provided food for nearly 5,000 people. In October 2008, that number jumped to 9,200 - nearly 100% increase in just five months.

So, we need all the help we can get to keep those shelves stocked and funds in the bank. Safeway has agreed to allow us to hold a drive at a Rainier Valley store, and we sure could use your help spreading the word and collecting food.

Where: Rainier Valley Safeway - I'm waiting for confirmation - it will be either the 3820 Rainier Ave S. store, or the Rainier Beach store. I'll update all volunteers.

When: Saturday, December 13 & Sunday December 14 from 10 am – 6 pm

What volunteering looks like:
Volunteer shifts are two hours long. During this time, you will pass out flyers to people entering the store (the flyers contain a grocery list with our most needed items). Some people will purchase items inside the store and drop them off with you. You give them a warm thank you and a smile and pack the groceries into the containers provided by RVFB.

The stronger of our volunteers may wish to help load bags, boxes or barrels of food into our waiting van.

Who can help:
EVERYONE can help! This is a great activity for parents to do with their kids – even the little people can hand out flyers to those entering the store and give a hearty “thanks!” to all who donate. Tiny kids in backpacks will enjoy watching all the comings and goings. Teens looking for community volunteer hours can lend a hand, and every community-oriented adult is an welcome addition.

How do I volunteer for this event?
Email Michele at mweingeist at comcast dot net or call 206.617.1664 and sign up for a time and date!

I’m busy these days. How else can I help?
* Drop off a few items at our event as you head out for the day.
* We have several other food-drive events in the works for Janury and February. Watch our website to find dates www.rvfb.org.
* Make a donation online at www.rvfb.org
* Hold your own food drive and bring the bounty to RVFB (write to info at rvfb.org for a food drive kit).

Thanks so much for your interest. Hope we see you at the food drive!

Last week, Mayor Nickels held a press conference at RVFB promoting the additional $555,000 in city-wide funding for emergency food he proposed in the 2009-2010 budget. The City Council recently approved the budget.

Last weekend, RVFB held a very successful food drive at Safeway.

• Over two dozen members of the community turned out to support the Rainier Valley Food Bank.
• We collect nearly 5,000 lbs of healthy, nutritious food for the RVFB client.
• Safeway customers bought 505 turkeys for RVFB clients.
• We raised $1,245 in cash donations, money that can be used to continue our important work.

On Monday, November 17th, Geraldine’s Counter hosted a cookie decorating event to support the food bank, and they raised over $1,000.

Geraldine’s will also be selling cookies to benefit the food bank. Stop in Geraldine’s and place an order for a dozen cookies for a suggested donation of $15.

Currently, there are three different Columbia City businesses holding food drives to benefit RVFB. Neighbors can drop off canned food at Geraldine’s, Starbucks or The Columbia City Fitness Center.

The support from our neighbors has been so touching, and so important. As the economy is declining, demand for our services is increasing. In May 2008, we provided food for 5,000 people. In October 2008, we helped 9,200 people. So this big influx of food, funds and support has come at a very important time for us.

Thanks to the generosity of our neighbors, the food bank has been able to meet the demand so far. But we must keep up these incredible efforts in order to continue to meet the demand in the coming months.

Thanks so much for all of your help!
The Staff, The Clients & Volunteers at RVFB

Where: The Safeway Store located at 3820 Rainier Ave S

When: Saturday, November 15 & Sunday November 16 from 10 am – 6 pm

What volunteering looks like:
Volunteer shifts are two hours long. During this time, you will pass out flyers to people entering the store (the flyers contain a grocery list with our most needed items). Some people will purchase items inside the store and drop them off with you. You give them a warm thank you and a smile and pack the groceries into the containers provided by RVFB.

The stronger of our volunteers may wish to help load bags, boxes or barrels of food into our waiting van.

Who can help:
EVERYONE can help! This is a great activity for parents to do with their kids – even the little people can hand out flyers to those entering the store and give a hearty “thanks!” to all who donate. Tiny kids in backpacks will enjoy watching all the comings and goings. Teens looking for community volunteer hours can lend a hand, and every community-oriented adult is an able volunteer.

How do I volunteer for this event?
Call Michele at 206.617.1664 and sign up for a time and date!

I’m busy these days. How else can I help?

• Drop off a few items at our event as you head out for the day.
• We have several other food-drive events in the works for November and December. Watch our website to find dates www.rvfb.org.
• Make a donation online at www.rvfb.org
• Hold your own food drive and bring the bounty to RVFB (write to info at rvfb.org for a food drive kit).

Thanks so much for your interest. Hope we see you at the food drive!

I am personally excited about the work we are doing and the future of
RVFB. On a shoestring budget in a small cramped building with a
cadre of committed volunteers, RVFB supports more than 5,000
individuals and families a month. As you can imagine, in a
struggling economy with rising food and fuel prices, the need is
rising every month.

We are a vigorous organization with a new board of directors, solid
sources of support and ever-increasing donations from the community.
You'll be hearing a lot more about our work as we reach out with
fundraising events and more information about Rainier Valley Food
Bank. Please visit our website to learn more about us!

www.rvfb.org

Sincerely,

Gwen Mitchell
Board President