Today in Clark County, one in four people are unsure where their next meal is coming from
Share’s annual Appeal for Meals officially kicks off on Thu., June 2 with a Food Drive, 12 to 6 p.m. at the Share Fromhold Service Center, 2306 NE Andresen Road. The financial appeal runs June 5 to 11 and online donations can be made at sharevancouver.org/mealappeal; select ‘Appeal for Meals’ under the program designation. Donors can also mail in a check to support the campaign: Share, attn: Appeal for Meals, 2306 NE Andresen Road, Vancouver WA 98661.
“Share’s meal and nutrition programs provide food and meals to thousands of people each year. They include individuals and families who are working, but who are still not able to make enough money to make ends meet, as well as those experiencing homelessness,” said Diane McWithey, executive director. “Family budgets remain tight. Food coming home with children through our Backpack and Fresh Food Pantry programs not only mean nutritious meals, but less stress for parents.”
Today in Clark County, one in four people are unsure where their next meal is coming from. Share’s meal and nutrition programs help to address this need through the Backpack, Fresh Food Pantry, Food Box, Summer Meals, Outreach and Hot Meals programs, which collectively distribute more than 1.2 million pounds of food each year.
All financial donations will be matched up to $78,000 thanks to this year’s matching donors: Jan and Steve Oliva, KMR Group Foundation, New Season’s Market Fisher’s Landing, Tod and Maxine McClaskey Family Foundation, OnPoint Community Credit Union, Pacific Premier Bank, Diane Kimmel, NW Nutrition Chapter 17, Helen Tollman and an anonymous donor.
New this year, Share launched a micro-site (sharevancouver.org/mealappeal) to talk about the continuing need for food assistance faced by people and families in our community. The site includes videos, honors the Appeal for Meal matching donors, provides a list of high-need food items and highlights the programs that will benefit from the campaign. Donations will be updated on the site’s progress bar, so donors can see how close Share is to meeting the match goal.
An additional way to help is by hosting a Food Drive for Share in June or July. Contact Maggie Bernetich at (564) 888-0821 or mbernetich@sharevancouver.org for more information.
About Share
Founded in 1979, Share’s mission is: Share believes every person counts. Together we pursue a stronger community by building relationships, advocating for equitable access to housing and food stability while empowering every individual to grow and thrive.
Share operates four shelters for those experiencing homelessness, an Affordable Housing and Stability program, Lincoln Place (a 30-unit Housing First model apartment complex), a street outreach program, a Housing & Essential Needs (HEN) program, Rent Well (a tenant education program), and Hot Meals, a daily meal program (breakfast, lunch and dinner) which is free and open to the community. Share also operates a Summer Meals program that provides free meals to children 18 and under, and a backpack program in partnership with 84 local schools to provide weekly food bags to 850-plus children and their families, as well as to distribute 25+ weekly pantry boxes and operate 18 fresh food pantries. For more information, visit sharevancouver.org or facebook.com/ShareVancouver.
