Hanford workers raise $50,000 to feed the hungry. Plus other pandemic generosity

Donations are helping make sure that Tri-Cities area residents can get the food and medical care they need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hanford workers raised $51,000 for Second Harvest, which supplies food banks across the Mid-Columbia, and Benton REA is responsible for a $20,000 donation to feed people in its service area from West Richland to Mabton.

A grant awarded to Tri-Cities Community Health will help it continue to provide healthcare to some of the Tri-Cities residents who can least afford to pay for it.

Workers donate $51,000

Hanford workers stepped up to raise $51,360 to help feed hungry families in the region as the coronavirus pandemic has dramatically increased use of food banks.

Hanford nuclear reservation contractors and their labor unions — Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council and the Central Washington Building Trades — held an online fundraiser May 18-27.

The Hanford Feeding Families fundraiser set a goal of raising $50,000 for Second Harvest and exceeded it with 359 donations received.

“The generous and immediate response of Hanford contractor employees and union members will help meet the increased need for food in communities throughout the Columbia Basin and Yakima Valley,” said Jason Clark, president of Second Harvest.

Organizations involved include the two union organizations, Amentum, Bechtel, CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co., HPMC Occupational Medical Services, Mission Support Alliance and Washington River Protection Solutions.

The online donation site 2-harvest.org/onehanford will continue to accept donations through June 2.

Money for health clinics

Tri-Cities Community Health has been awarded a $50,000 emergency grant to help it continue to provide medical services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The nonprofit organization has clinics — including for primary care, diabetes, behavioral health, vision and dental care — in Pasco, Kennewick and Richland. Services are offered on a sliding fee scale.

The grant was provided by the medical aid organization Direct Relief, in partnership with the National Association of Community Health Centers.

“Access to primary care is what keeps people healthy and out of the hospital, and the front-line work of Tri-Cities Community Health ... is more critical than ever with the onset of COVID-19,” said Thomas Tighe, president of Direct Relief.

Nearly 30 million residents of the United States rely on community health centers like Tri-Cities Community Health and the number is expected to increase as more people lose employer-sponsored healthcare during the pandemic.

Help from Benton REA

Benton REA has donated $20,000 to programs feeding local families with the help of a matching grant from one of its lenders, CoBank.

The rural electric association has given $12,000 to the Tri-City Food Bank in West Richland and Benton City, $4,000 to Jubilee Ministries’ Food Bank in Prosser and $4,000 to Sunrise Outreach Food Banks serving Mabton and Sunnyside.

The donation was needed, said Howard Rickard, president of the Tri-Cities Food Bank Board.

“The next wave of people is coming — those who’ve never been to the food bank before,” he said.

$42,000 donation

Baker Boyer Bank has donated $42,000 to area organizations that are assisting those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of the groups that received money, Tri-Cities Cancer Center’s Dine In program received $2,500, Second Harvest Tri-Cities received $5,000 and $12,000 was allocated to to Baker Boyer’s First Responder Meal Program — which supports local restaurants help feed front-line healthcare workers and first responders.

VA requires masks

The Department of Veterans Affairs is now requiring everyone entering a VA facility to wear a face covering.

The requirement includes the Richland clinic, the Walla Walla VA Medical Center campus and the Yakima clinic.

Face masks must cover the mouth and nose, fit snugly, allow for unrestricted breathing and be laundered daily.