Tuesdays at noon, the Parkland Spanaway Rotary meets at the Paradise Bowl, 12505 Pacific Avenue South. This week their speakers were from the Emergency Food Network and the Pierce County Gleaning Project. These names are hyperlinked to their websites.

There have always been needs in our communities, but in this particular economy, the need is exceptionally great. Superintendent Hewins of the Franklin Pierce District said in two of their elementaries in Parkland, 100% of the kids are on free and reduced lunch. The school lunch program is used as a litmus test for community poverty.

The Emergency Food Network is a Pierce County entity. They partner with Northwest Harvest and Coast harvest to serve the needs in Western Washington. Every month there are about 100,000 visits to their food banks. For every dollar donated to Pierce County feeding programs, they are able to purchase 12 dollars worth of food. What an amazing organization. Throughout the year there are several fundraisers and food drives where you can help them help the hungry families in Pierce County.

Do you have fruit trees or garden items that are overwhelming you? You can give the Pierce County Gleaning Project a call. They can arrange for a group to come out to your home and harvest the unneeded items to take to the food banks across the county.  Contact Emily@efoodnet.org. Here’s a link to a brochure on where to donate produce.