White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Here’s their announcement about what they’re doing in connection with the Seattle Foundation‘s “Give BIG“ multi-organization donation drive on May 2nd:

May 2 is Give Big with the Seattle Foundation, and White Center Food Bank has set up several ways to make giving easier – and tastier. Give Big is a one day, online charitable giving event when your donation will be stretched by the Seattle Foundation. This year we will have board members and volunteers at several sites in the morning with laptops to make donating easier if you’re stopping for coffee on the way to work, and in the evening Proletariat Pizza will help you “dine out for hunger” by donating a portion of sales for the evening.

Here is how Give Big works:

All donations must be made on May 2 between 12:01 am and midnight via the Seattle Foundation’s website – this can be done from your home, one of our laptop stations or via mobile. Bookmark the site now: http://www.seattlefoundation.org/npos/Pages/WhiteCenterEmergencyFoodAssociation.aspx?bv=nposearch

WCFB Board members will be at Dubsea Coffee (9910 – 8th Ave SW), Caffe Delia (9622 – 16th Ave SW) and Cafe Rozella (9434 Delridge) in the morning between 7 and 10 am with laptops to make donating easier.

Proletariat Pizza (9622 – 16th Ave SW) will be donating 5% of sales to White Center Food Bank during the evening business hours. We will also have board members and a laptop on hand there if you’d like to make an extra donation in addition to your pizza purchase.

Note: we are listed as the White Center Emergency Food Association on the Seattle Foundation’s website. Only donations on May 2 count for the “stretch” dollars.

If any other restaurants would like to join in Dine Out for Hunger, please contact Ann Kendall at email:ann@whitecenterfoodbank.org or call 206-713-0031.

ADDED FRIDAY MORNING: WC Food Bank says Zippy’s Giant Burgers has joined “Dine Out for Hunger” too and will also donate 5 percent during dinnertime on May 2nd.

It’s not just a new month – it’s Feinstein Challenge time, which means a lot to the local folks who make sure that thousands of people in this area don’t go hungry. Here’s the announcement from the White Center Food Bank:

Today, the 2012 Feinstein Challenge begins and again this year the White Center Food Bank will be participating. For the past 14 years, the Feinstein Foundation has divided $1 million each year among over 3,000 hunger fighting agencies nationwide.

Here’s how the challenge works. For every donation the White Center Food Bank receives during March and April, the Feinstein Foundation will help contributions grow by adding to them. All cash and food donations count towards the stretch dollars.

At WCFB we continue our focus on healthy foods through our mission driven services. By actively working with our clients to minimize hunger, we nourish our community to make it stronger and healthier. We nurture self-reliance through our gardening, nutrition and Healthy Food Gift Certificate programs and embrace our rich cultural diversity each day through our bi-lingual in-take services and provision of culturally familiar foods. 2011 brought a record 66,682 individuals through our doors – and we expect 2012 to bring similar numbers of those in need through our doors.

Please help continue to ease the pain of hunger in our community and step up to the challenge by making a contribution to the White Center Food Bank today. To be eligible for the Feinstein Challenge, your gift must be received no later than April 30th. Online donations via our website: whitecenterfoodbank.org.

A group of volunteers who were to help suddenly canceled – so Audrey Zemke at White Center Food Bank says they need “five to seven people” from about 10 am-1 pm. Can you help? Call 206-762-2848.

9:38 AM UPDATE: Handled! Thank you!

Since Endolyne Joe’s is one of the southernmost restaurants in West Seattle, it’s not far from White Center if you’d like to venture that way for this event supporting the WC Food Bank (which serves not only WC and environs but also part of WS. Just announced this morning:

Endolyne Joe’s in West Seattle along with Sozo Wines announce their first Winemaker’s Dinner on January 14, 2012 at 7 pm. Space limited to first 20 reservations; $60 per person. This five course meal will feature Endolyne Joe’s New England-themed winter menu paired with wines from Sozo Wines‘ collection. In addition to a fabulous meal, paired wines will be available for purchase to benefit the White Center Food Bank. Representatives from Sozo will be at the dinner to introduce each wine; current varieties include Compassion Cabernet, Bountiful Bordeaux and Humanity Riesling.

From the Sozo Wines website, “The goal of Sozo is to produce and deliver artisan crafted wine and gourmet food for our friends to enjoy and at the same time feed a substantial number of people who live in poverty.” Each bottle of Sozo Wine (now available at Endoyne Joe’s as part of their regular wine list) has a medallion which indicates how many meals are provided with the purchase of the bottle. Bottles sold at Endolyne Joe’s benefit White Center Food Bank on an ongoing basis as well as those sold the evening of the Winemaker’s Dinner.

Part of Sozo’s goal is to build community around pressing issues such as hunger; Endolyne Joe’s is a hub of the Fauntleroy community while White Center Food Bank serves the hungry in our community. The Winemaker’s Dinner brings together these elements of community – working together on one of our community’s ongoing needs.

For reservations, contact Endolyne Joe’s at 206–937-5637.

11:12 AM: Reminder that White Center Food Bank is now open, till 7 tonight, to accept frozen turkeys, chickens, and any other kind of holiday food you’d care to donate.

ADDED 2:30 PM: That’s WCFB executive director Rick Jump in the food bank freezer, which still has room for several hundred more turkeys! They’re at 8th and 108th.

The White Center Food Bank has two holiday requests for you, received today as a news release:

On November 19 from 9 am until 7 pm, White Center Food Bank will be holding a Turkey Drive to collect donated frozen turkeys and chickens for their upcoming Thanksgiving holiday distribution. White Center Food bank expects to serve over 1,000 families for the holiday. This year’s turkey shortage combined with high wholesale prices (currently $1.25 a pound) make it difficult for the food bank to purchase turkeys at normally deep discounts. Starting (today), local sales and deals on turkeys will be posted on the White Center Food Bank’s Facebook page. Other meal items that are needed include: olives, cranberry sauce, pickles, cookie or cake mixes, cool whip or whipping cream, pumpkin, any type of canned milk, muffin mixes and pie crust mixes.

To donate, any turkey or chicken should be frozen. White Center Food Bank located at 10829 8th Avenue SW will be open November 19 until 7 pm to accept any donation. Other times to drop off are available; please call 206-762-2848. Volunteers are still needed to assist with holiday distribution as well including Monday through Wednesday, November 21-23 from 12:30-3:30 pm.

Here’s the WC Food Bank’s post this morning about turkey deals (if you have one to add, let ’em know!).

At a time of year when those in need are most at risk, a benefit to help fight hunger and homelessness is planned for this Sunday. Here’s the announcement we received:

Light Under the Bridge, a Homeless Christian Ministry (non-profit), is joining Union Gospel Mission and the White Center Food Bank’s fundraiser for the hungry and homeless. Featuring “A Night of Giving with Joe Arrants,” November 13th from 5:30-8 pm, at Westside Foursquare Church, 11452 26th Ave SW. We will be serving soups, salad, & bread. Hurry and buy your tickets and invite family, friends, neighbors, etc. Tickets can be bought from Jon 206-941-4301 or at the door.

Just in – a reminder about this big event ahead:

1971 was a bleak year in Seattle – large numbers of lay-offs, shuttered storefronts and billboards proclaiming “turn out the lights” if you were the last person to leave town. To address the immediate hunger needs in their community, members of several congregations quietly began food distributions – often on Mondays after congregation members brought their donations to services on Sundays. At first, just a few came – but as news of the food service grew – more people arrived to look for help. This humble service grew into the White Center Food Bank, as the community continued to reel from persistent economic challenges. Today’s services surpass what the original founders of the food bank could’ve imagined; in August 2011, 1753 families received service.

On October 15, White Center Food Bank will celebrate 40 years of service to the community at its annual Harvest Dinner and Auction at South Seattle Community College’s Brockey Center. Tickets and details are available online at www.whitecenterfoodbank.org, at $62 per person if purchased online. A great variety of auction items are available, and a great way to meet others in the community that care about hunger. White Center Food Bank serves a 12 square mile area of SW Seattle and into Burien serving over 64,000 individuals in 2010.

For more information on White Center Food Bank including how to volunteer or donate: www.whitecenterfoodbank.org.

The White Center Albertsons will be a site for donating food during this Saturday’s “Global Volunteer Day” efforts by Prudential Northwest real-estate brokers. You can also donate cash, if you don’t have food items to offer. You’ll find them there from 10 am-2 pm (and if you are in West Seattle, look for them at West Seattle PCC as well as West Seattle Thriftway). “One can or one dollar is all we ask,” the official announcement quotes event coordinator Shari Kruse as saying. “It really takes very little from each person to make a big impact.” Area beneficiaries include the White Center Food Bank and its West Seattle counterpart.

Perhaps the craziest fundraiser ever is happening this weekend in SODO – and its organizers chose White Center Food Bank as a beneficiary – but to pull it off, some help is needed! In case you haven’t already seen this alert on Facebook or Twitter – we’re putting it here online. From Ann Kendall:

The Tomato Battle selected White Center Food Bank as a beneficiary for this upcoming weekend’s battle and we are looking for a few folks to help out. Yes, it does sound messy but we’re not asking anyone to jump into the actual battle. Help is needed with set-up (hanging banners, and other decorating), observing the battle (reporting anything odd to security, checking IDs at entry) and tear-down; 2 hour shifts from 10:30 until 9pm. All volunteers receive a “crew” t-shirt. If interested, contact Ann Kendall at ann@annkendall.com directly.

Find out more about the Tomato Battle – and buy tickets, if you’d rather do that than volunteer! – by going here.

In case you hadn’t heard about this one yet – latest announcement received – great way to help the White Center Food Bank:

White Center is putting the “fun” back in fundraiser with a second chance at prom the way it could have been, and this time it’s on roller skates. Who says prom is just for high school teenagers? We’re taking it back and adding a few grown-up enhancements. Formal attire is highly encouraged but that doesn’t mean you can’t get that baby blue ruffled tux you always wanted to have the nerve (and occasion) to wear. What else are you going to do with that hideously overpriced bridesmaid’s dress your sister/bff made you buy for her wedding? RJB Photo will be on-site to photograph you and all your friends as many times as you like and as silly as you want to be.

Tickets: $20 includes skate rental, 3 hours of skating/dancing, “formal” photo booth by RJB Photo and some adult beverages. 21+

Photos by RJB Photo
Proceeds to benefit White Center Food Bank

Wednesday 9/21/2011 8:00pm – 11:00pm
Southgate Roller Rink
9646 17th Avenue Southwest
Seattle, WA 98106

Tickets: brownpapertickets.com/event/190246
Facebook: facebook.com/RatCityRollerProm

First, 4-7 pm today/tonight (Friday), a big event on behalf of the White Center Food Bank, at Greenbridge Plaza, per this announcement:

hanks to the Vertically Integrated Partnership to Feed Those in Need (VIP) working as part of Governor Gregoire’s Feeding Washington Program, Friday, August 5 will see upward of 2,000 guests enjoying barbecue, music and good times on Greenbridge Plaza. VIP is a coalition of farmers, food processors, food distributors and other food service companies that are working together to help stop hunger in the Pacific Northwest. The VIP includes Sodexo, Annie’s Fun, Hirai Farms, Sysco, Food Services of America, McCain Foods, National Frozen Foods, Farmer Bean Company, Darigold, Franz Bakery, and UW Housing & Food Services, etc.

And together with the *White Center Food Bank*, all work together to provide this festive meal for those in need in the Greenbridge community (residents have already received special tickets to attend). Music will be provided by local jazz musician Frank Steele and a balloon artist will be on-hand to entertain the children in the crowd. With sunny weather on tap for August 5, this is bound to be a celebratory event for the residents of Greenbridge. In July 2011, White Center Food Bank served a record number of clients – numbers that are more reflective of a difficult holiday season and not the middle of summer. This event and comes at a time of highest need for help in the White Center area.

And from Sibelle Nguyen at Dubsea Coffee:

INSTRUMENTAL ART-ROCK: Moraine Band

Moraine is an omnivorous Seattle-based instrumental rock band featuring guitarist Dennis Rea, violinist Alicia DeJoie, woodwind player James DeJoie, bassist Kevin Millard, and drummer Stephen Cavit.

With its full complement of ace instrumentalists arrayed in striking combination, Moraine achieves a unique sound while drawing on forms ranging from art rock to Chinese folk music to plugged-in power jazz.

Arrive early this Friday evening as we stay open late and Moraine gets ready to {art}rock the house.

FREE & ALL-AGES : FRI. AUGUST 5th, 5-7 pm :
*RSVP