“A Place at the Table,” a powerful new documentary that investigates and proposes solutions to incidents of hunger experienced by millions of Americans, will be screening at The Grand Cinema from May 3-May 9.

Emergency Food Network and Immanuel Presbyterian Church are co-sponsoring a post-film discussion following the 4:20pm screening on Sunday May 5. The discussion will be led by Helen McGovern, Executive Director of Emergency Food Network, and will draw connections between the film and work being done to address hunger in Pierce County.

“The hunger-related challenges facing Tacoma/Pierce County are essentially the same as those being faced by communities all over the country,” says McGovern. “This film promises to invite audiences to join an important on-going conversation about local hunger and maximizing resources.”

Tickets are available at www.GrandCinema.com and more information about Emergency Food Network can be found at www.efoodnet.org.

Non-perishable and canned food donations will be accepted at each screening.

For More information about the “A Place at the Table” and please contact Zach@grandcinema.com (253) 593-4474.

For more information about Emergency Food Network please contact info@efoodnet.org (253) 584-1040.

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On April 17, 2013, Emergency Food Network hosted its annual Recognition Breakfast to honor those in the community who go above and beyond in the fight against hunger in Pierce County.

EFN’s Silver Spoon Award goes to people and organizations that had a substantial impact on the emergency food system in the past year. This year’s categories and recipients are:

Corporate Partner of the Year: Financial Insights

Mother Earth Farm Support: Convergint Technologies

Partner Feeding Program: FISH Mobile Food Bank

Food System Support: Quaker Oats Pepsico Tacoma

Foundation Partner: The Medina Foundation

Substantial Collection Effort: JBLM Commissary Vendor Food Drive

Volunteer Service: Brenda Enninga, Goodwill Pierce County Workfirst Consortium

System Sustenance: American Leadership Forum Class XVIII

This year’s David P. Ottey Lifetime Achievement Award  to honor an individual with a sustained dedication to EFN’s mission “to provide a reliable food supply so that no person in Pierce County goes hungry” went to Retha Hayward from the Manitou Art Center, a longtime Empty Bowls volunteer. Retha and her studio are directly responsible for throwing, firing, and glazing more than half of the 1,200 bowls sold at the annual Empty Bowls fundraising event, which last year brought in $30,000 for EFN.

EFN also honored its 2013 Corporate and Civic Partners. Qualifying businesses and groups are involved with EFN in any three of the following ways:

Hosting a fund drive or food drive
Having an employee involved on our Board of Directors or a committee
Contributing $1000 or more to EFN
Purchasing a table at our auction for $1000
Bringing a group to volunteer at our warehouse or farm
Placing a link to EFN on your website
Helping EFN in another significant way

The 2013 Corporate and Civic Partners are:

AmercianWest Bank
Boeing Company
Chuckals Office Products
DaVita
Financial Insights
Gordon Thomas Honeywell
Franciscan Health System and Foundation
KeyBank
LaborWorks
Lakewood Police Department
Murray Pacific
Pierce County Central Labor Council
Roman Meal
Rotary District 5020
Simpson
Snuffin’s
Stadium Thriftway
TPCAR
Teamsters Local 117
Tucci and Sons
Waste Connections

About our Silver Spoon Award recipients

Financial Insights: In addition to providing financial advice and retirement planning to EFN employees, in 2012, Financial Insights sponsored EFN’s Auction and Recognition Breakfast, held a staff appreciation event for EFN employees, and hosted a catered event at Mother Earth Farm to thank our top supporters and monthly donors. Company founder Dorothy Lewis is a longtime friend of EFN, and EFN values her commitment to the fight against hunger. We are grateful to the amazing staff at Financial Insights for their support and kindness in 2012.

Convergint Technologies: In the winter of 2012, EFN received funding to build a new 3,000 square-foot greenhouse at Mother Earth Farm. In June, Over 100 engineers from Convergint Technologies constructed enough tables to fill the greenhouse, and also helped install an irrigation system. They weeded the entire farm, painted tables, built a cold frame, and cleaned up the farm’s picnic area and front entrance. Their expertise helped Mother Earth Farm to a successful growing season, with a harvest of 150,000 pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables, and honey, which was distributed to Pierce County food banks.

FISH Mobile Food Bank: FISH Board Member Mike Mowat invested his personal time and funds to make his vision for this food delivery method a reality, re-fitting a moving truck with shelves, ramps, and mini-shopping carts. It was very important to Mike that the Mobile Food Bank follow the same procedures as the seven brick and mortar FISH Food Banks. Clients are not handed a pre-filled bag; rather, they are able to “shop” for the foods that best meet their needs. Currently, the Mobile Food Bank is located in five different sites, Monday through Friday each week. It is able to move where the community needs it most. In 2012, the Mobile Food Bank’s first year of operation, more than 29,000 individuals were served 260,000 meals.

Medina Foundation: For 20 years, The Medina Foundation has been an important part of Pierce County’s fight against hunger, from the first grant to EFN for $5,000 in 1993 to providing one and two-year grants ranging $20,000 – $30,000 annually throughout the past decade. Most recently, The Medina Foundation helped support EFN’s operation with $60,000 from 2011 to 2012, translating to 175,000 meals each year.

Quaker Oats Pepsico: The sheer volume of product donated by Quaker Oats Pepsico is astounding–1,866,806 pounds in 2012, out of 15.1 million total distributed by EFN last year. Granola bars, snack food, Gatorade are all great food items for area youth. Because of this company’s generosity, more kids have access to snacks that keep them alert and fed during the school day.

JBLM Commissary Vendors: Vendors host a food drive for EFN every year. In 2012, they collected more than 23,000 pounds of food to aid in our efforts to fight hunger in Pierce County.

Brenda Enninga and the Workfirst Consortium: Goodwill employee Brenda Enninga works with EFN’s Volunteer Coordinator to place Community Jobs workers in our warehouse, where they learn essential job skills and also have the opportunity to become certified forklift operators. Community Jobs workers sort food, build orders, answer phones, and help with mailings. They are essential to EFN’s day-to-day operations.

ALF Class XVIII: American Leadership Forum class participants are community leaders from Pierce County business, nonprofit, government, and education sectors. Class XVIII’s culminating project took a deep look at the emergency food system in Pierce County to determine whether the current model can be improved to more efficiently provide food to clients when and where they need it. As a result of their analysis, EFN and its partner programs will build on these findings to determine what concrete steps can be taken to improve service and delivery of emergency food.

Emergency Food Network provides more than 15.1 million pounds of healthy, nutritious food annually at no cost to over 67 food banks, hot meal sites and shelters for distribution to low-income families and individuals. In 2012, programs in our network accommodated 1,381,602 total visits. EFN spent nearly $1.45 per visit to assure that each time a community member walked into a food program with nothing, they walked out with enough food for 11 meals. With an administrative overhead of under 4%, EFN distributes $12 worth of food for every $1 we receive.

CANCELLED due to the weather.

Draft Horse Plows to prepare Mother Earth Farm for planting.

What’s one of the first steps required to get 150,000 pounds of fresh, organic produce to local food banks? Plowing the soil, of course.

But who best to plow the soil, a team of draft horses, or a team of Lutes basketball players and their coaches?

We’ll tip off the growing season properly with a battle to determine which species is superior, the horse, or the college basketball player. Will the draft horses plow more ground, or will 13 Lutes and their coaches?

On April 6 from 10am until 3pm, teams of drivers and plow horses from Hames & Tugs Draft Horse Club will compete against the PLU Lutes Basketball team to see which group can plow the most land at Mother Earth Farm. Their competition will have the added benefit of helping to ready the field for spring planting.

Emergency Food Network operates the 8-acre Orting farm, managed by staff member Canyon Little. This annual event exemplifies the spirit of the program. Mother Earth Farm grows more than 40 varieties of vegetables, as wells as fruit trees. Bees are kept on site to pollinate, and their honey is collected for distribution as well. Vegetables grown at Mother Earth Farm are harvested and delivered fresh to area food banks on the same day that it is harvested.

Attendees are encouraged to bring weather-appropriate clothing like boots, gloves, and raingear, a sack lunch, a camera, and chair to sit on. Be there to witness feats of strength and farming that will be talked about for generations!!

Emergency Food Network provides 14 million pounds of food to 67 food banks, meal sites, and shelters annually. An average of 115,000 clients visit feeding programs in Pierce County each month. Eighty percent of all emergency food distributed in Pierce County comes from EFN.

Directions to Mother Earth Farm

From I-5 north or south—Take Hwy. 512 (to Puyallup) and follow signs east to Highway 410 East (Yakima/Sumner) exit. Follow 410 to second Sumner exit (Valley Avenue/Orting-Highway 162); and turn right at stoplight at end of exit ramp (toward Orting). Drive approximately 1.9 miles (past Alderton and Spooner Farms) to 102nd. Look for gravel road on left—Mother Earth Farm sign will be at entrance to 102nd. Farm is at the end of the gravel road on the right. Look for the parking signs.

Mother Earth Farm
15208 102nd St E, Puyallup 98374

Click here to view the event page!

As the economy continues to make a sluggish recovery, families in Washington still find themselves struggling with food insecurity. In an effort to address hunger needs in our region, Washington’s own Wilcox Family Farms delivered 86,000 eggs to Emergency Food Network in Lakewood, WA on Tuesday, March 19 at 9 a.m., to help these families in need.

Brent Wilcox, Owner/CEO of Wilcox Family Farms summed up their commitment: “Wilcox is dedicated to helping our surrounding neighbors.”

A donation of this magnitude helps EFN to provide a healthy, nutritious source of protein to the 67 food banks, meal sites, and shelters in Pierce County’s emergency food system. These programs see an average of 115,000 client visits each month, and total visits reached a record 1,381,602 in 2012.

“We are grateful to Wilcox Family Farms and their generous donation to the Emergency Food Network,” said Helen McGovern, Executive Director of Emergency Food Network.  “This annual donation enables us to provide much needed protein to our community food partners and allows emergency agencies to distribute to those in need.”

“We’re thrilled to donate much-needed protein to Emergency Food Network Food, just in time for the Easter holiday,” stated Wendi Shaw of Wilcox Farms. “Wilcox Farms is a fourth generation family business, and we take pride in giving back to our local community.”

A full 86% of the food that EFN distributes qualifies as healthy and nutritious, with the remaining 14% falling under the category of beverages or other sources such as food drive donations. Fruits and vegetables account for 53% of the food distributed, and protein sources like eggs, turkey, pork, chicken, and beef make up 6% of the 15.1 million pounds of food distributed annually by EFN in Pierce County.

Vote for Mike Mowat to represent our state at the National Jefferson Awards in Washington D.C.

Click here to vote for Mike Mowat! Your vote combined with the judges’ vote will help determine which Jefferson Awards winner will represent Washington State at the national ceremony. You are only allowed one vote per person. Voting closes Monday, March 25, 2013 at midnight.

Mike knew there was a way to provide food assistance with dignity to low income neighborhoods that had limited or no access to a food bank. As a volunteer board member for FISH Food Banks of Pierce County, he knew the challenges that many families were facing and he wanted to find an innovative solution that did not require bricks and mortar, but could also serve people in an inside space to shield them from cold and rainy weather. After conducting research on different mobile food bank models, he realized that the best solution would be a moving van that was converted into a foodbank on wheels. In June 2011 Mike, with a cadre of volunteers, spent months converting the van with shelving, lights, heat, a freezer and a generator. Every day Mike stocks the food shelves to make sure they have enough food to distribute that evening and every Saturday he washes the trailer – he even drives the truck and trailer to each site. Currently this food bank is located in five different sites Monday through Friday. It is able to go where there are the greatest demands. He has fostered partnerships with three of the local school districts to host the food bank after school. Schools were chosen because they are located in neighborhoods, many in low income areas, and they have parking lots.

Pierce County Library System is bringing Paris to Pierce County this spring with its community one book program: Pierce County READS. Now through May 17, thousands of people will come together as a community and read copies of this year’s Pierce County READS’ book the New York Times best seller and award-winning “The Paris Wife,” by internationally known author Paula McLain.

Be a part of the largest free reading event in Pierce County: the sixth annual Pierce County READS, presented by Pierce County Library System and The News Tribune and sponsored by KeyBank Foundation and Pierce County Library Foundation.

“The Paris Wife” gives an intriguing account of one of the world’s greatest authors, Ernest Hemingway, seen through the eyes of his first wife, Hadley Richardson. This book has been very hot on the best-seller’s list, and with significant social media chatter, it soared and stayed at the top of the list. “The Paris Wife” garnered the Winner for Best Historical Fiction in the Goodreads Choice Awards, which is the only major book award that readers decide.

During the Pierce County READS program people may participate in events where they may learn how to write and get their book published, plan their trip to Paris, and make art deco jewelry.

In addition to the many hands-on activities, Pierce County READS will feature other authors including: author and Professor Ann Putnam who will discuss the role of women in Hemingway’s life and works at King’s Books, Thursday, May 2, 7 p.m.; Kathleen Flinn, an award-winning author of two memoirs with recipes, who will inspire listeners to participate in her passion for home cooking at University Place Pierce County Library, Thursday, May 16, 7 p.m.; and Gregg Olsen, a New York Times best-selling author, who will talk about how he researches and writes about the lives of others at Pierce College Puyallup, Friday, May 17, 12 p.m.

People may meet Paula McLain at a free event and book signing at McGavick Conference Center @ Clover Park Technical College, in Lakewood, Friday, May 17, 2013, 7 p.m. She will speak and sign books.

Twenty community partners participate in Pierce County READS: Associated Ministries, Barnes & Noble, Clover Park Technical College, Emergency Food Network, Garfield Book Company, The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, Joint Base Lewis McChord Libraries, King’s Books, Lakewood Arts Commission, Lakewood Historical Society and History Museum, Mostly Books, Pacific Lutheran University, Pierce College Puyallup, Pierce College Fort Steilacoom, Puyallup Public Library, Roy Public Library, Sumner Arts Commission, Tacoma Art Museum, and University of Puget Sound. Seventeen cities and towns and Pierce County are also signing proclamations for Pierce County READS.

Pierce County READS @ www.piercecountylibrary.org search site: READS

The line starts some years an hour before the doors open. That’s when the semi-mad dash begins for the “best” bowls. Preference, of course, is relative. One person might grab a bowl donated by Throwing Mud Gallery, and another person chooses a bowl made and donated by a high school student in an advanced ceramics class. Once selections are made and paid for, with all proceeds going to Emergency Food Network, attendees make their way to the free soup, donated by Pacific Grill, The Swiss, Adriatic Grill, Infinite Soups, Engine House 9, Alina Soups, and Chambers Bay.

It’s an annual ritual enjoyed by more than 500 people each year. During Empty Bowls, more than 1,200 bowls are purchased for the home and for holiday gifts, and more than 700 bowls of soup are consumed over 2.5 hours. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, November 17, 2012 at Charles Wright Academy from 1:00pm-3:30pm. Admission is FREE. Bowl prices start at $10.

On the evening prior, Charles Wright Academy and Emergency Food Network will host the second annual Vessels Juried 3D Art Show and Silent Auction. This event features 15-20 pieces specially crafted to be judged and auctioned to guests. Tickets for the event are $25 and can be purchased by contacting vessels@efoodnet.org or calling 253-580-1040.

Both events fuse art and charity in a really unique way. Coco Roening, a member of Charles Wright Academy’s Class of 2013, made 100 bowls for the Saturday event. The school’s Advanced Pottery class is also participating in providing bowls for sale. Local potter Jenifer Davis throws bowls every year for the event. “Empty Bowls provides all the lonely bowls I make throughout the year a wonderful home,” says Davis.  “I love that I can be part of this wonderful event.”

Melanie Harding is a community member who counts herself among big fans of the event. “Some people start their holiday shopping with the shopping mall craziness of “Black Friday” — I start mine at Empty Bowls. I get to shop unique, handcrafted items while supporting a great cause. When I give the gift, I include a card for the Emergency Food Network and a little note that tells the recipient that their gift also helped to feed a hungry neighbor in need. To me, they are gifts that capture the spirit of the season.”

EFN distributes more than 14 million pounds of food annually to 67 area food banks, meal sites, and shelters. Pierce County food programs will receive more than 1.3 million visits in 2012, roughly 50% more than in 2008. Each visit costs EFN about $1.55, and clients leave a food bank with enough food for an average of 9 meals.

The two events combined will raise over $30,000 for hunger relief in the county. “We will be able to provide food for more than 17,000 meals with the funds that we raise,” says EFN Executive Director Helen McGovern.

That will fill some bowls and plates for many Pierce County Residents.

Community member quotes about Empty Bowls:

As both a soup enthusiast and someone with a keen eye for design I love this event. My wife dragged me to it last year and I was amazed by the hand crafted quality that went into both the soups and the bowls. I cannot wait to go this year. A totally unique event that supports the local artists, showcases local chefs in our community and provides for the less fortunate. – Mick Wilcox

Many beautiful handcrafted bowls to choose from and tasty soup! Prices are affordable, it benefits a worthy cause, and it’s a fun way to get your holiday shopping done. Plus, food tastes better in a bowl. –Emily Garofolo

Good bowls, good soup, good cause! It’s an absolute winning recipe. – Barbara Becker Nelson

I only have one empty bowl but want to make this an annual event. –Katherine Rode

For more information, visit www.efoodnet.org and click on the events page or donate button, or call 253-584-1040, or email info@efoodnet.org.

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The formula for providing healthy, nutritious, staple food for Pierce County’s hungry is pretty simple. The more funds and food donated to Emergency Food Network, the more food the organization can provide. In a three hour span on October 26, attendees at EFN’s annual auction raised enough funds to provide nearly 1.5 million meals to food insecure families and individuals. In a span of 8 minutes during the live auction, people in the room raised their bid paddles to donate $104,000. Many in the room were amazed at the results that 400 people achieved in such a short period of time.

“It was absolutely incredible,” said EFN Executive Director Helen McGovern. “You blinked, and three people raised their paddle for $10,000 each. Then seconds later more people donated $5,000 each. It just kept going until we were well past our totals from any other year. I’ve always said that it takes a system of generosity to do the work that we do, and there were some amazing parts of that system at our auction that night in the McGavick Center.”

“The engagement that folks in the room felt with the EFN mission was contagious throughout the evening, evidenced by their record breaking support,” added EFB Board President Al Bacon. “Through the displays of giving, the obvious passion of our EFN staff, and the heart-felt speech from a beneficiary of EFN’s service, our attendees knew their support would make a real, tangible impact on the bold mission of ending hunger in Pierce County. I’m certain all those who came to the EFN auction walked out saying “I had fun,” but more importantly they all left knowing they made a difference. To me, that’s our biggest success of the evening.”

Including support from the silent auction, live item, raffle, dozens of sponsors, and the event’s Presenting Sponsors, Waste Connection and the Franciscan Foundation, EFN raised $253,000 on the evening, at least $40,000 more than any prior year. Considering EFN’s ability to distribute $12 worth of food for every $1 donated, EFN’s powers of multiplication will have a huge impact on the food system.

Pierce County food programs will receive more than 1.3 million visits in 2012, roughly 50% more than in 2008. Each visit costs EFN about $1.55, and clients leave a food bank with enough food for an average of 9 meals.

“We will be able to provide food for over 100,000 client visits with the funds that we raised. This will feed our entire county for a little more than one month,” said McGovern.

For more information, visit www.efoodnet.org and click on the events page or donate button, or call 253-584-1040, or email abundance@efoodnet.org.

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