When the City of Orting needed access to food, community members from the Orting Christian Church responded. What started as a feeding program from a small trailer in 2007 has become an establishment that now has a walk-in freezer and cooler space.
Orting Food Bank (OFB) continues to adapt as the demand for food increases. For example, in the past, they would normally serve about 350 families per month. However, that number has more than doubled in the past month. Despite their small volunteer base of 35 and staff team of 2, Orting Food Bank has served all of these families and even taken on the task of running a summer lunch program for children under 18 that will provide lunches every weekday through September 1, 2023.
Orting Food Bank is primarily sustained through fundraisers and donations, the most recent fundraiser being their Dinner and Auction last April. Of food donations received, 75% come from Emergency Food Network (EFN), who typically provides their most abundant items such as canned goods and staple grains. Orting Food Bank participates in a grocery rescue program, a program which prevents food from being thrown away in stores by bringing it to food pantries, to source many of their fresh items. Additionally, OFB gets most of their produce through EFN’s Mother Earth Farm and Northwest Harvest. The rest of their food comes from the community, local partners, and the remaining 10% from purchasing. Making meaningful connections supplies Orting Food Bank with a good stock of fresh items and produce.
One local partner is Legendary Doughnuts. Orting Food Bank had previously received many donations from the Orting Bakery, now home to the newly opened Legendary Doughnuts. After their opening, Director of Services Robin Hash reached out to them for day-old donations, and Legendary Doughnuts has been happy to help out. Robin expressed to us that they are always in need of nonperishable items such as cereal, nut butter, and pasta. Please consider donating shelf-stable items to support Orting Food Bank!
Orting Food Bank distributes their food using a marketplace method, with volunteers assisting as shopping partners. When guests come to Orting Food Bank, they sign in and are given a card to indicate their family size. In one part of the marketplace, guests can browse and choose which items they want from produce and grains. Then, a volunteer assists them through the rest of the marketplace to choose items that have more limited stock. During this process, the volunteers are able to mingle with guests and share friendly conversation. One volunteer told us that her favorite part of volunteering is building relationships with food pantry guests and saying “hi” to them throughout the town. Robin emphasized that creating a welcoming atmosphere is very important to Orting Food Bank. The main reason people visit a food bank is because food has become unaffordable. Guests and volunteers told us that this challenge brings a sense of shame for needing to use emergency food assistance. Robin observed that while they can’t entirely alleviate that feeling, they can create a warm and welcoming environment to show their guests that they are cared for and supported.
If you would like to volunteer or support Orting Food Bank, visit their website at https://ortingfoodbank.org/, reach out to them at ortingfoodbank@yahoo.com, or call 360-893-0095. We are proud to partner with Orting Food Bank to provide food to our neighbors in Pierce County! From all of us at EFN, thank you for your incredible work.
By Moira Gaffney
Summer 2023 Development Intern