Here are the details from an email:

Become a Team Player!!
Help Praise-a-lujah ministries meet the needs of those in our community- one food basket at a time. Praise-a-lujah is a faith-based treatment center in Des Moines where individuals seeking the meaning of life can find it by building a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. By loving others as Christ first lived us, please drop off food donations at these following locations in your area on October 7th from 11am – 5pm:

• Burien Saar’s Market Place
  14905 4th Ave. S.W.
  Burien, WA 98166
• Rainer Saar’s Market Place
  9000 Rainer Ave. Way S.
• Normandy Christian Church
  908 S. 200th St.
  Normandy Park, WA 98198
• Praise-a-lujah
  19825 Des Moines Memorial Dr.
  Des Moines, WA 98148

Your help will answer prayers for those in need. Thank you and God bless!!

For more information, please contact Pastor Kelly Crow at 206-429-3383.

On Saturday, May 14th, members of the National Association of Letter Carriers will be holding their annual “Stamp Out Hunger,” when residents are asked to leave bags of non-perishable food items next to their mailboxes.

Letter carriers will pick these up on Saturday, then deliver them to local food banks.

Known as known as the “nation’s largest single-day food drive,” this is an easy way to donate food and help your hungry neighbors, and we here at The B-Town Blog encourage all our Readers to participate (we do…).

Here are the details:

WHAT: Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive by the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Burien kids carry a bag of food to their mailbox in 2009.

WHEN: Saturday, May 14th.

WHERE: Leave bag(s) of non-perishable food items at your mailbox for pickup.

INFO: Suggested food item donations include canned meats, fish, soup, juice, vegetables, pasta, cereal and rice. Please do not include items that have expired or are in glass containers.

Some tips:

1. Place non-perishable* food products in a bag.
2. Leave at your mailbox on Saturday, May 14th.
3. Your letter carrier will pick up and deliver to local food banks or pantries.

More information available here: http://helpstampouthunger.com.

The 3rd Annual Turkeys N’Diapers Fundraiser, sponsored each year by the B-Town Blog and White Center Blog and originally scheduled for this Saturday (Nov. 20th) in White Center, has been postponed for the time being.

“We will reschedule this very successful event as soon as possible,” said Blog staffer and event organizer Bart Bryan.

The Turkeys N’Diapers Fundraiser supports the very much needed services of the White Center Food Bank and WestSide Baby.

“We will let our readers know as soon as we reschedule our third annual fundraiser,” Bart said. “We look forward to seeing a strong turnout at that time from our Burien and White Center neighbors and hope to make it our best one yet!

“In the meantime, we encourage our readers to make the biggest and most heartfelt direct donations they can muster before Thanksgiving,” Bart said.

The White Center Food Bank makes food available year-round to nearby families in need.

The Food Bank works hand-in-hand with WestSide Baby, a non-profit organization that collects previously-owned items for children and babies and distributes them free of charge to South King County families in need.

Last year WestSide Baby served more than 15,000 children.

Here’s year-round contact information:

White Center Food Bank
10829 8th Ave SW
Seattle WA 98146
www.whitecenterfoodbank.org
Phone: 206-762-2848

And:

WestSide Baby
New location: 10027 14th Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98146
(206) 767-1662
www.westsidebaby.org

WestSide Baby is open for Donations, Volunteers and Provider Pick-ups:

• Mondays and Wednesdays 9am to 1pm
• Saturdays 10am to 1pm (Closed Saturday, November 27)

Recently, children of Highline Public Schools participated in a district-wide food drive for the first time, bringing in 6,365 pounds of food and over $2,400 in cash, with all proceeds going to three area food banks: Highline, Des Moines and White Center.

“It’s a great start,” said White Center Food Bank’s Resource Coordinator Audrey Zemke. “Now that we have the basics in place, I’m excited to see what we can do next year!”

And, according to the Highline School District, they definitely will do it again next year.

Here is a breakdown of the results, by area:

The Highline Area Food Bank received a total of 2,684 pounds of food and $365.00.

• 943 pounds of food from Gregory Heights Elementary
• 461 pounds of food from CHOICE
• 239 pounds of food from Highline High School
• 511 pounds of food and $160.00 from Transportation
• 530 pounds of food from Facilities
• $205.00 from ERAC

The Des Moines Area Food Bank received a total of 1,384 pounds of food and $2,003.93.

• 1,384 pounds of food from Parkside Elementary.
• $1,805.00 from Des Moines Elementary’s penny drive
• $140.00 from ERAC

The White Center Food Bank received a total of 2,297 pounds of food and $39.00.

• 561 pounds of food from Cedarhurst Elementary
• 320 pounds of food from the Honor Society at Evergreen High School
• 1,237 pounds of food & $15.00 from Hazel Valley Elementary
• 100 pounds of food & $24.00 from ERAC
• 79 pounds of food from Shorewood Elementary

On Saturday, May 8th, members of the National Association of Letter Carriers will be holding “Stamp Out Hunger,” known as the “nation’s largest single-day food drive,” when residents are asked to leave bags of non-perishable food items next to their mailboxes.

Letter carriers will pick these up on Saturday, then deliver them to local food banks.

This is an easy way to donate food and help your hungry neighbors, and we here at The B-Town Blog encourage all our Readers to participate.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive by the National Association of Letter Carriers

WHEN: Saturday, May 8th

Burien kids carry a bag of food to their mailbox in 2009.

WHERE: Leave bag(s) of non-perishable food items at your mailbox for pickup.

INFO: Suggested food item donations include canned meats, fish, soup, juice, vegetables, pasta, cereal and rice. Please do not include items that have expired or are in glass containers.

1. Place non-perishable* food products in a bag.
2. Leave at your mailbox on Saturday, May 8th.
3. Your letter carrier will pick up and deliver to local food banks or pantries.

The Highline School District will be holding a food drive the week of April 26 – 30, with donations going to both the White Center and Des Moines Food Banks.

According to a release, each school will set a goal, in pounds, for their individual food drive.

With the Feinstein Foundation Challenge still active, donations could effectively be doubled through April 30th.

“This is an exciting opportunity to make an impact on the needs of our community members,” said Audrey Zemke of the White Center Food Bank. ”The Alan Feinstein Foundation splits one million dollars in matching funds for all monetary and food donations through April 30.”

Here are the details:

WHAT: Highline School District food drive.

WHEN: The week of April 26 – 30 (Mon-Fri).

WHERE: All Highline Public Schools.

INFO: From a release:

Help fight hunger! Did you know one in five families with children in our region does not have enough money to buy food?

During the week of April 26 – 30, you have a chance to help change that! Highline Public Schools will partner with the Des Moines and White Center Food Banks to raise food and funds for the hungry.

Each school will set a goal, in pounds, for their individual food drive.

We can do this!  Stamp out hunger in our community!

Bring non-perishable items…

OR

CASH!   ($1 = $4 buying power!)

You can also donate online:

• www.myfoodbank.org (Des Moines)
• www.whitecenterfoodbank.org

Or send donations to:

Highline Food Bank
P.O. Box 66427
Burien, WA  98166

B-Town Blog Advertiser Market Place Salon and Day Spa recently went a cut above to help raise money for the Highline Area Food Bank.

Owner Daniel Keane (pictured left, holding some freshly-cut locks) and staff were invited to do haircuts to help raise money for Albertson’s holiday bucks promotion. They set up a chair and cutting station right in the front of the store.

“All day long they were cutting hair for donations,” said Rashelle Lee, Albertson’s Customer Satisfaction Manager. “We had a fantastic time and helped out the food bank as well.”

$500 in donations was raised over seven hours to help Burien’s needy neighbors!

Here are some pics from the event:

Our 2nd Annual Turkeys N’ Diapers Fundraiser!

It’ll run until 4pm today, and all donations will go to the White Center Food Bank (food) and WestSide Baby (diapers & baby stuff).

Albertsons is located at 16th Avenue SW and SW 106th Street in White Center.

Come by and say Hi!

by Ralph Nichols

While the number of families seeking help from the Highline Area Food Bank in Burien increased by 17 percent during the first six months of 2009, food donations are down by more than 30 percent.

“In this recession, we’re hurt the most by the lack that kind of giving,” said Mike Werle, executive director of the Highline Food Bank. “At every food drive for the past year and a half, the poundage of donated food has been going down.”

Werle notes that 380 pounds of food were donated during Prudential’s food drive in Burien on Oct. 1, compared to 780 pounds last year.

Yet, he adds, “We’re doing better than some food banks.”

This fall, the Highline Area Food Bank has been serving about 850 families a month.

Located at 18300 4th Ave South, the bank distributes food to clients on Tuesdays from 12 to 2:30 p.m., Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the second Tuesday of each month from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

The value of donated food distributed last year topped $1,042,980. Food donations come from supermarkets, smaller stores and food outlets, and individual donors. Day-old and damaged goods come from:

• Fred Meyer
• Safeway
• Albertson’s
• Three Starbucks
• Little Ceasar’s
• Mud Bay pet store
• Bartell Drug in Burien
• QFC in Normandy Park
• Safeway and Gai’s Bakery in SeaTac

In addition to financial donations from individuals, businesses and churches, the food bank receives grants from federal, state and city governments, King County, United Way, and FEMA.

Financial donations, which Werle said “are way up” even as food donations are down, are essential to the food bank’s mission. “The purchase of food is essential to our ability to give out a nutritionally balanced unit of service to our clients.”

The Highline Area Food Bank serves clients north of 192nd Street and south of 116th Street, from Pacific Highway/International Boulevard/Military Road west to Puget Sound. Of those served, 42 percent are adults, 18 percent are seniors, 38 percent are children, and 2 percent are infants to age 2.

Clients come from Burien (65%), SeaTac (20.5%), Normandy Park (4.5%), and unincorporated King County (4%). Six percent say they are homeless.

The food bank negotiated a 25-year lease at its present facility, the former Manhattan Community Center, which Werle calls “a heck of a deal.” It opened there in 1996 and since has added 40-foot and 20-foot insulated containers and a 12 foot by 24 foot walk-in cooler and freezer for an on-site storage capacity of about 60,000 pounds of food.

“On average,” he says, “we go through 50,000 to 65,000 pounds of food a month.

The large storage capacity gives the Highline food bank the ability to accept large donations and then give some to other food banks if they can’t use all of some items.

Werle says Highline and other area food banks adopted in 2001 a list of foods, which was reviewed and revised slightly by nutritionists from the University of Washington, to provide clients a “standard minimum unit of service.”

Clients self-select from a standard list of items at the food bank, with the variety depending on what has been donated. Once a month their minimum unit includes milk, meat, peanut butter, cereal, soup, canned fruit and vegetables, rice, beans and Jell-o.

Once a week they can get fresh fruits and vegetables, potatoes and onions, bread and other baked goods, baby food, nutritional supplements – and pet food when it’s been donated.

For Thanksgiving and Christmas, which Werle describes as “special giving,” more than 400 families will be served before each day with holiday foods as well as some of the regular food items that are distributed.

At Christmas, donated toys will be given to the children of clients at the John Knox Presbyterian Church fellowship hall in Normandy Park.

After the holidays, he says, “the need continues,” but donations decline sharply from early January until May, when the U.S. Postal Service holds its annual carrier food drive at “the best time of year for that to happen.”

In addition to providing food for clients in need, the Highline Area Food Bank also serves new people from outside the area for that day and refers them to the food bank closest to their home, helps people sign up for DSHS services and rental and energy assistance.

Twice a month, a United Way worker comes in to help them sign up for food stamps and summer nutritional programs for kids.

There’s no question that the Highline Area Food Bank could use some help this season; here’s how YOU can lend a hand:

• Send checks made out to Highline Area Food Bank and mail to:

Highline Area Food Bank
P.O. Box 66427
Burien, WA 98166

(you can also place checks into the drop box located at the Normandy Park QFC)

• Drop by the Burien Albertsons any Saturday or Sunday between 10am and 2pm and buy some “Turkey Bucks,” which come in $1, $5 and $10 denominations. Turkey Bucks are converted in to actual, hot Complete Holiday Meals for people in the Highline community to enjoy on Thanksgiving Day (which, by the way, is Thursday Nov. 26th).

• Drop non-perishable food off at Page2Books (15706 1st Ave South; 206-248-7248‎) which delivers to the Food Bank every Tuesday. Also, on Saturday (Nov. 14th) they are donating ALL proceeds from their $1 Book Cart to the Food Bank.

• Come to The B-Town Blog’s “Food Bank Blog Party” on Tuesday night, Dec. 8th at The Tin Room in Olde Burien! Stay tuned for more details soon…

For more information, visit the food bank’s website here.

During the Burien Art Walk on Sept. 12th, if you make a purchase of three Partylite products, 50% of all sales will go directly to the Highline Area Food Bank.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Fundraiser by Partylite for the Highline Area Food Bank

WHEN: During the Burien Art Walk on Sept 12th from 10an to 6pm

WHERE: Diane Ball, the Fundraising Chair will be located out on the sidewalk in front of The Mark Restaurant 914 SW 152nd Street in Old Town Burien.

INFO: 50% of all sales go DIRECTLY to the Foodbank. You can purchase, or help sell. Three Partylite products to choose from makes it simple & easy to raise dollars for those in need.

Place an order or collect orders from friends, family and co-workers. With one single sale; you can raise as much as $7.50 in CA$H for the Highline Food Bank.

Pick-up and drop off your Fundraising packet during the month of September 2009 at the following locations:

• PAGE 2 BOOKS September 1st thru the 15th 2009
  15706 1st Ave. S. M-Sat 10am-6pm Wed 9am-7pm
  Burien WA 98148
• Highline Food Bank Tuesday September 8th 4:30pm-7pm 18300 4th Ave. S Diane Ball the Fundraising Chair will
  Burien Wa 98188 be there.
• The Mark September 12th 2009 10am-6pm Restaurant & Bar September 16th thru 28th 914 SW 152nd St. September 29th & 30th drop off only. Burien WA 98166 M-Thur 11am-11pm F-11am-1am Sat-9am-1am Sun-9am-11pm
• Burien Farmers Thursday September 24th 1pm-till close
  Diane Ball the Fundraising Chair will be there
  152nd Street between 5th&6th SW

Additional information on this event is available here. For more info on the Highline Area Food Bank (including how you can donate or volunteer), click here.