With our partners, EFN strives to serve every person in need of food assistance, no matter their circumstances. Parkway Community Services shares that commitment. In the words of Executive Director Randy McElliott, “If you’re hungry, you’re hungry.” And that means Parkway is there to help.
With a modest building just off 112th St in Parkland, Parkway Community Services gets a lot done without the equipment of larger operations. When the EFN truck arrives each Tuesday, volunteers unload all the food by hand and store it in the main building, where you will find 15-20 freezers. Volunteers also use the main building to prepare ready-to-go boxes of nonperishable staple items. Just beside the main building is a converted Conex (AKA shipping container) transformed into a large refrigerator, which works beautifully for storing produce and other perishable donations.
Many folks rely on Parkway for support, respect, and a caring community. Each week, about 400 people and families visit Parkway. Often, they’ll leave the food pantry with 50-60 pounds of food, and volunteers are always nearby to help guests carry groceries to their vehicles. Around the holidays, Parkway also offers baskets with special holiday foods and even presents! In 2022, they distributed 1,500 baskets for Thanksgiving and over 500 baskets for Christmas. Parkway serves many returning guests, who know they can receive food once a week while being treated with kindness and dignity.
In addition to all the work Parkway accomplishes at their main location, they also provide 700 weekend food bags to students in the Bethel School District every weekend! School counselors in the district pick up bags from their satellite location in Spanaway and hand-deliver them to students in need. Executive Director Randy says that this model reduces barriers and makes the process as simple and dignified as possible – it’s hard to admit to being hungry as a kid. Families might struggle to make it to the food pantry, perhaps juggling multiple jobs along with their young kids. Volunteers spend hours each week assembling these bags, without ever seeing the recipients. As long as nutritious food is making it to hungry kids in the community, Randy says, he doesn’t need to know any more.
Parkway accomplishes all this with no paid staff – every part of their service is accomplished by a dedicated community of volunteers! If you would like to support Parkway with your time and talents, call 253-579-5090 to get in touch. Parkway is open for distribution Tuesdays and Thursdays 11am – 3pm, but volunteers are needed throughout the week.
From all of us at EFN, thank you to Parkway Community Services and their incredible team feeding neighbors in need.