White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Tonight at South Seattle Community College in West Seattle, as covered on partner site West Seattle Blog, about 200 people showed up for a Seattle City Council budget hearing – and almost half of them spoke to the council (with, eventually, all nine members on hand). Among them, White Center Food Bank executive director Rick Jump – not speaking against a proposed cut by Mayor McGinn, but instead, in favor of the $35,000 he has proposed giving the WC Food Bank. Jump noted that a third of his agency’s clients come from within Seattle city limits, another third from unincorporated areas, and another third from Burien, and he does get funding from both the latter city and from the county. P.S. He’ll be back at SSCC’s Brockey Center, same site as tonight’s hearing, this Saturday night for the food bank’s annual Harvest Dinner and Auction, 5:30 pm.

It’s been repeatedly pointed out to Seattle city leaders that while the White Center Food Bank serves a notable number of clients inside the Seattle city limits – from SW Myrtle southward – it doesn’t get any funding from the city. That will change if the budget proposed by Mayor Mike McGinn yesterday goes through – it includes this line:

*Increase budget by $35,000 to provide funding to the White Center Food Bank in recognition of the significant number of Seattle residents served by the program

If you can make it over to Avalon Glassworks in West Seattle’s Luna Park business district tomorrow afternoon – here’s an unusual fundraiser: Suggested donation $40 for a professionally photographed head shot, and the money goes to the White Center Food Bank. More details here.

Beautiful night for a barbecue – and cookout is exactly what happened tonight at Greenbridge Plaza, as the White Center Food Bank played host to hundreds, enjoying food and music during a special “Feeding Washington” dinner with a long list of sponsors.

White Center Food Bank executive director Rick Jump explained how the event came together:

You might remember our coverage of the potato donation Rick mentioned – back in 2008. As you heard him say, the same farm donated corn for tonight’s event, too. Other fare included barbecue chicken.

And local leaders had a few words – State Sen. Joe McDermott was there, as was the person running unopposed for the seat he’s leaving to run for County Council, State Rep. Sharon Nelson:

Tonight’s event also included live music by Septimus:

Here’s what Feeding Washington is all about. Meantime – if you happen to be going to the West Seattle Outdoor Movies presentation of “Fantastic Mr. Fox” this Saturday night (4400 California SW courtyard in WS, free, bring your own chair/blanket, movie starts at dusk but there’s always a preshow activity), donations will be collected for WC Food Bank (and its friends at WS Food Bank).

Several updates – first one, $7,000 was the take for WestSide Baby at Saturday night’s first-of-its-kind Guys’ Night Out. Above, WestSide Baby’s Nancy Woodland with Kemp Garcia, who hatched the Guys’ Night Out WS Baby benefit idea, and Gerard Denommee. The event was held at the White Center Eagles‘ HQ.

And the White Center Food Bank got some extra help this weekend: First, a Friday delivery from Windermere Real Estate, which conducted a door-to-door food drive in part of West Seattle, dropping off bags on Wednesday, then coming back two days later for pickups – the WC Food Bank got more than 600 pounds, according to Audrey Zemke’s online update. West Seattle’s Life Church is planning a similar food drive on June 30th, she also writes. One more boost: Full Tilt Ice Cream celebrated the 2nd anniversary of its original location in White Center on Sunday, and was donating to the WC Food Bank the equivalent of every scoop and cone purchased that day!

Tomorrow (Sunday), Full Tilt Ice Cream celebrates its second anniversary in White Center, and they’ll donate to the White Center Food Bank the equivalent of the scoops/pints you buy tomorrow – so it’s their birthday, but they’re giving instead of getting.

Last night at the 34th District Democrats‘ meeting in West Seattle, White Center Food Bank executive director Rick Jump was one of the community leaders who posed questions to Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, City Council President Richard Conlin, and Councilmember Bruce Harrell. It was a question that he and others have asked for a long time: Since a third of the White Center Food Bank’s service area is within the Seattle city limits, shouldn’t the organization get some funding from the city? Bottom line – none of the three disagreed; they promised to see what they could do. This won thunderous applause from the 100-plus in attendance, since the WC Food Bank is a major beneficiary of volunteer time/donations from the 34th DDs. More from the meeting coming up later today.

Today is the final day of the annual Feinstein Challenge – and that means any help you provide to the White Center Food Bank, today, counts for extra, as part of the match that’s involved. So think about contributing some cash, or dropping off some food, or checking in to see if there’s anything else they need. Donation links and lots of info can be found at whitecenterfoodbank.org. (And while you’re at the WC Food Bank site, don’t miss the “blog” section – lots of interesting tidbits about programs and ongoing efforts “behind the scenes.”)

(added 2 pm, Evergreen High School Key Club and WC Kiwanis volunteers with WCFB’s Audrey Zemke)
Till 4 pm, you can take pet food to White Center Food Bank for the donation drive that’s wrapping up today – Key Club and Kiwanis volunteers are scheduled to be there to receive your donations. Food’s been collected the past few weeks at spots in Burien and West Seattle, too; here’s an update from our partner site West Seattle Blog.

(Photo courtesy White Center Food Bank)
That’s Long Nguyen with his raised-bed garden at White Center Heights Park – and now you might be able to have one too, according to this announcement, which includes a call for community-garden volunteers:

Together with the White Center Community Development Association, the White Center Food Bank is announcing that applications for raised beds at White Center Heights Park are now available.

The garden is located at 102nd SW and SW 7th across the street from White Center Heights Elementary School. Community members will have an opportunity to use a raised bed to grow their own garden. Raised beds are free to garden for the season. Gardeners can also contribute a part of their harvest to feed the clients of the White Center Food Bank.

Now In its 3rd year, the garden will be a place where residents can come together as a community to grow food with neighbors, family and friends. White Center Food Bank is excited to be able to provide an opportunity to the community to increase self-sufficiency and celebrate the diverse cultures that make White Center a wonderful place.

Applications are available at the White Center Food Bank. Contact Audrey Zemke in person, at audrey@whitecenterfoodbank.org or (206) 762-2848 for an application. Applications are due to the White Center Food Bank by March 30, 2010. A lottery system will be used to pick the 16 individuals or groups who will receive a raised bed.

The White Center Food Bank is also looking for people to help with the community garden. Volunteers are needed to help with composting, cleaning up before and after the season, educating gardeners, planning the kick-off garden event or year-end harvest celebration. If you want to be connected to a great community of gardeners, contact Audrey Zemke to volunteer.

From Wes Olsen at Shorewood Foursquare Church:

The youth group at the church is participating in World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine, which is when our youth fast for 30 hours to connect with those who are starving across the world. We also raise money for people who are starving or in poverty during this time too, including where our money is going to this (time), Haiti Earthquake Relief.

Part of what we want to do is to ask people to come to our location this Saturday from 9 am to 12 pm, and donate new or gently used clothing for teens to go to New Horizons Ministry in Belltown, and food donations to the White Center Food Bank.

Our location is 2656 Southwest 104th Street. It is the building just south of Shorewood Foursquare Church, on 28th Ave SW. The drop off location is on the 28th Ave SW side of the building.

Got yarn to share? You might want to drop it off at White Center Food Bank after reading this story (shared on Facebook by volunteer Beth Grieser).

From the White Center Food Bank website – 50 trees donated for happier holidays, courtesy of IKEA and Evergreen High School! See the story, with a photo, here.

White Center Food Bank is open for one more stretch today – 5 to 7 pm (we just called to check as we had conflicting info, but we’re also going over to make double-sure in person) – and they still need large turkeys, cranberry sauce and dinner rolls. 10829 8th SW; here’s a map.

Just in:

PRUDENTIAL GLOBAL VOLUNTEER DAY! FOOD DRIVE

Prudential West Seattle is conducting a food drive for the West Seattle and White Center Food Banks. Food and Cash contributions may be made at the West Seattle office at 4700 42nd Avenue, Suite 600, or through your Prudential Agent. Look for our collection teams on October 3rd from 10am to 2pm at all three of the local Safeway Stores [Roxbury, Jefferson Square, Admiral], the Morgan Street Thriftway and Albertsons in White Center! Please call us at 206-932-4500 if you have questions or would like a donation pick-up! YOUR DONATIONS WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

From Audrey at White Center Food Bank:

Evergreen High School Key Club is doing a food drive benefitting the White Center Food Bank as part of the Mayors’ Day of Concern for the Hungry on Saturday, September 26 from 10 am to 3 p.m. at Roxbury Safeway and Burien Safeway.

Also, Prudential West Seattle is conducting a food drive benefiting the White Center Food Bank and the West Seattle Food Bank on Saturday, October 3, at local Safeway Stores, Albertsons in White Center and Morgan Street Thriftway. Donations can also be made at the Prudential office on 4700 42nd Avenue, Suite 600 or through a local Prudential agent.

On Friday, coast to coast, the 9/11 anniversary was honored with a Day of Service/Day of Caring. As part of that, Microsoft workers volunteered on behalf of White Center Food Bank — helping at the food bank as well as working on a food drive at grocery stores in West Seattle and Burien. You can see a mini-photo album at the White Center Food Bank Facebook page (that’s the source of the photo you see atop this item).

WANT TO HELP THE WHITE CENTER FOOD BANK? We published this earlier today at partner site West Seattle Blog – the WCFB (which is news there too since it serves people in West Seattle as well as WC) is asking for artists to decorate chairs to be auctioned off at the annual Harvest Dinner and Auction coming up in October. Full details here.

HELP WHITE CENTER FOR THE ARTS, TOO! Last night we reported on White Center for the Arts‘ ongoing efforts to buy the Southgate ex-rink building; tonight, they’re inviting you to their next “Third Saturday” arts event – this time at Big Al Brewing, 7-19 pm Sept. 19. WCFTA’s Shelli Park says, “Come enjoy Art, Music, Food, Beverage, and Prizes; a rockin’ Saturday night, and help WCFTA reach its funding goal.” Here’s the flyer.

We got the chance to chat with Audrey Zemke from White Center Food Bank on Saturday while covering Picnic at the (Southwest) Precinct on behalf of partner site West Seattle Blog, and she gave us some scoop on WCFB’s upcoming annual Harvest Dinner/Auction: It will be held at South Seattle Community College‘s Brockey Center, 5:30 pm October 17th. North Highline Fire Chief Scott LaVielle will emcee; media personality Cindi Rinehart (a West Seattle resident) will be the auctioneer. Invitations will go out in about two weeks, but if you want to lock in your tickets now, you can call or e-mail White Center Food Bank – contact info’s all online, whitecenterfoodbank.org.

Just in:

Volunteers Needed 8/8 and 8/12 to Clear Out White Center Food Bank Warehouse

Volunteer Alert: The White Center Food Bank needs volunteers on Saturday, August 8th, and Wednesday, August 12th. We are having the floor replaced on that Monday and Tuesday, so we need to totally empty the warehouse on Saturday and put everything back on Wednesday.

If you can lend a hand, please contact Audrey Zemke, Volunteer Resource Coordinator, at 206-762-2848 or email her at audrey@whitecenterfoodbank.org