‘Families ... are hurting.” Pasco church gives out 60,000 lbs of food. 2nd event planned
Tri-Citians started lining up four hours early last weekend to collect a box of food.
By the time, volunteers at New Beginnings Community Christian Church started the giveaway, traffic had backed up for blocks near 20th Avenue and Henry Street.
“There are a lot of families that are hurting,” said Marlando Sparks, one of the organizers of food giveaway. “Many people don’t realize how many churches get phone calls asking if there is any assistance. That is something from before the pandemic.... Most churches will help 100 people and now there are 500 people needing help.”
After a handing out more than 60,000 pounds last weekend, Marlando and his wife Stephanie are gearing up to hand out thousands of more pounds on Christmas Eve.
The event starts 9 a.m. at the church at 1116 N. 20th Ave.
The idea started with Stephanie seeing the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related shutdowns on families throughout the community.
“We heard of a woman that was eating cat food because she couldn’t afford normal food,” she said. “We saw there were a lot of families in need.”
That’s when they decided to do something about it.
They learned about Farmers to Families, a U.S. Department of Agriculture program funded by the CARES Act. The government bought $4.5 billion in fresh produce, dairy and meat products from American producers and put it into food boxes.
Those boxes have been going to food banks, community and faith-based organizations and other nonprofits so they can get to people in need.
When they watched a similar giveaway in the Seattle area, Marlando and Stephanie saw the broad impact the pandemic had. People from major companies had hit hard times and needed help.
“When you’re not able to make it happen that is one of the most difficult things you can go through,” Marlando said. “We’re not judging. We just know that it has impacted many, many families.”
While they had hoped to start delivering food earlier in the fall, funding for the program had dwindled, Marlando said. Then they got a call saying if they could get to Woodinville, Wash., they could get food to distribute.
With the help of J and S Transport, Butter Creek Livestock and KMR Livestock, they were able to bring about 800 boxes along with several more pallets of potatoes, carrots and squash.
When time came to give away the food, people showed up in force.
They began lining up at 6:45 a.m., more than four hours before the start time, and the Sparks saw a similar range of people needing help.
After all the boxes were gone, they gave away the additional produce and bread they had, so everyone got some food.
They had planned to make the giveaway a monthly event, but their suppliers in Woodinville said another load of food is available this week.