Food Bank Corner

Published 1:30 am Thursday, August 13, 2026

July was another busy month at the Food Bank, with the search for a new manager, a new computer network being installed, lots of fish being processed from the Pacific Salmon Coalition, and impressive numbers as the number of participants continues to climb.

Our search committee for a new manager put in a great deal of time and effort into the process, making sure we were doing things right. After conducting interviews, we are pleased to announce that Angelica Almazan is our new manager. She began her new position on August 3.

Angelica is bilingual, which will be a tremendous help with our diverse clientele. She also brings communication, leadership and computer skills to the position, along with a willingness to learn new skills.

We also installed a new computer network with the help of Greg Archer. The improvements will provide better internet coverage throughout the Food Bank, along with new laptop computers and software packages for the executive director and manager to assist them in doing their jobs.

A big shout-out goes to the Pacific Salmon Coalition for the Summer Run Steelhead and Summer Silvers from the Calawah Rearing Ponds and the Solduc Hatchery. This generous donation provides an important source of protein and helps improve the nutrition available to our clients.

We are also excited to announce that we are expanding our hours beginning September 2. The Food Bank will be open from 5 to 7 p.m. to better meet the needs of working families who cannot come during the day because of work. We want to help families who are struggling to make ends meet by providing supplemental food to help stretch their budgets. Information about the new hours will be posted at the Food Bank, as well as announced in the newspaper and on the radio.

Here are the Food Bank’s July numbers:

Households served: 879

Member visits: 1,524

Market pounds: 23,773

Food Bank pounds: 30,596

Volunteer hours: 606.5

We still need more volunteers at the Food Bank, and I know some of you have already approached me about volunteering. With our new manager in place, there is someone at the Food Bank from approximately 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. most days of the week. You can also call 360-374-4197 to make sure someone is there to sign you up to help.

I have had the privilege of giving tours of the Food Bank to community members who are curious about what we do or who are dropping off donations. Most had no idea how much goes on behind the scenes at the Food Bank. Please stop by and check out the improvements we have made as we work to provide the best supplemental food possible for our clients.

I also want to thank our board members for all the time they give in supporting our executive director and management and helping with the oversight of the Food Bank.

Again, thank you to all of our partners who donate to the Food Bank. Without you, none of this would be possible.

God bless,

Rev. Warren Johnson

President of the Board