Nourish/EFN Mobile Food Bank

For the past 6 years, the Nourish/EFN Mobile Food Bank has distributed food directly to areas in Pierce County where accessing food by our neighbors in need has been a challenge. These are areas where a food pantry did not exist previously or where physical barriers, such as I-5, prevent easy access to a food pantry. The Mobile Food Bank is now serving 10 of these locations, 5 days-a-week (2 sites each day). In 2017, the Mobile served more than a half million meals to our neighbors in need.

While Nourish owns and operates the Mobile Food Bank, EFN keeps the truck and trailer on site where it is cleaned and stocked each day. Durk Gunderson, the Nourish/EFN Mobile Food Bank Manager, takes the truck and trailer to each site where he sets up, meets and works with volunteers, and oversees the Mobile Food Bank operations. Shelves line each side of the trailer where guests enter through the side, check in with a volunteer, and walk down the center aisle with another volunteer and a grocery cart to select food that is best suited for their families.

Close to 300 volunteers helped at the Mobile Food Bank in 2017. “Many of the Mobile Food Bank sites have the same group of volunteers who come in every week, which is wonderful as this gives volunteers the chance to get to know the food bank guests,” Merrit Reed, EFN’s Coordinator of Volunteer Activities, said. “It can be hard enough to go to a food bank but when you have a friend who’s there to greet and help you, it can make it so much easier.”

We look forward to continuing to serve our neighbors in need through our partnership with Nourish in 2018!

View the full issue of The Feed: January 2018.

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