Our current Jurisdictional Service Project...Northwest Harvest

In 2009, Rainbow Girls of Washington Idaho decided to partner with Northwest Harvest

to make a difference.  July 2010, they made their first annual donation of over $30,000

which helped supply over 45,000 meals!! 

Northwest Harvest History – Northwest Harvest was originally founded in 1967 and viewed as a short term solution to help fill the gaps people encountered to feed themselves and their families. The long-term need for Northwest Harvest was sealed in 1970, when the Boeing Company began a round of layoffs that would cost 60,000 jobs over 18 months. The faces of the hungry were no longer limited to the poor and homeless, as thousands of formerly middle class people, now out of work, wondered how they would feed their families. They had no money to buy food, but their assets - homes, cars, boats - disqualified them for government assistance. As we encounter the same hard times in our economy now, the need for emergency food assistance remains. Today, Northwest Harvest is still Washington's own statewide hunger relief agency, serving 36 of Washington’s 39 counties and securing approximately 18 million pounds of food each year for distribution through a network of nearly 300 partner food programs. As a locally operated agency, Northwest Harvest is uniquely suited to serve the diverse needs from county to county across Washington State.

There are many opportunities to help:

For more info on Northwest Harvest, check out this brochure or their website at www.northwestharvest.org    

 Click here for more ways Rainbow Girls are Making a Difference...

 

Below are some of Northwest Harvest's clients' stories:

Garnette’s Story
In May of 2004, I lost my job due to a very serious health problem. As a result of this I lost my home, my care, my credit, and was left with serious financial difficulties. Through other sources, I found a place to live so I moved from Marysville to Monroe. I found the wonderful Sky Valley Food Bank in Monroe and was able to have nutritious food. Because of the wonderful volunteers that were very kind to me, I also got back some of my dignity. I am 62 years old and worked all my adult life holding two and three jobs at a time. Losing so much at one time, I felt emotionally and physically bankrupt. As soon as I get back on my feet, I would love to help at the food bank and give back to the community that was so generous.

 From the Hood Canal Food Bank:
We received a call from the neighbor of a woman who was having a hard time. Her husband had health problems and she had been laid off from work. Since she had never had to rely on a food bank, she was uncertain whether she’d qualify to receive help. She was hesitant to come to the food bank so volunteers from the food bank came to her, supplying her and her husband with a generous amount of food and reassuring them that their presence at the food bank would be welcome.

 From the Cherry Street Food Bank:
A friend of mine came to Cherry Street yesterday.  She has a job, but it pays close to minimum wage and they have cut down her hours recently.  She has three kids, ages four to nine.  On very short notice, we were able to provide her with two emergency boxes of food.  She was so appreciative of this and was excited to get home and show her kids the “gold mine” of food in her car.  She said several times how easy this was, and how different it was from government programs, where you have to lose a day of work to wait in lines and fill out paperwork. 

 Jennifer’s Story
I was a young, uneducated single mother who waited tables to support myself and my son. I got sick and could not make work for two shifts. Because of that, I could afford my rent but no groceries. I called around and found a local food bank. I was embarrassed and humbled as I stood there in line with my son holding my hand. I started to cry as it hit me that total strangers who had never even witnessed the bright smile of my son donated food so that we could eat.   I never had to go back to the food bank again but the road to where I am today was not easy. I went to school and had to work two jobs for over five years to eventually get to where I am now – working at Nordstrom. But standing in line at the food bank years ago remains one of my most prominent memories. I always worked to take care of myself and my son. I just got sick. Northwest Harvest is a wonderful organization that hopefully one day will not need to help any of our friends or family – but the reality is, they might.