Payless Foods Steps in to Help Families Hit by Shipyard Closure

I think that this headline says a lot about what Payless means to this community. It was back in November of 2007 when Payless Foods donated $20,000 to the Good Cheer Food Bank. The Nichols Brothers shipyard closure was creating hardships for many when 185 workers were laid off in early November of 2007.

“”When we heard about the Nichols Brothers situation, we knew the food bank was going to be affected,”” said Kim Blain of Payless Foods.

“”We wanted to make sure the entire community had enough food.”  “I am proud of how the people of South Whidbey stick together”,” Blain said. Payless gave Good Cheer a $20,000 store credit. “We buy food monthly from Payless at  cost and that is wonderful.

Nichols Brothers has rebounded from bankruptcy in 2008 after being purchased by Ice Floe, headquartered in Texas. It has obtained a steady flow of contracts to build large tugboats and catamaran ferries, along with refitting and maintenance work. It also is a subcontractor with Todd Pacific Shipyard to build three 64-car ferries for the state of Washington.

“Payless and the Blain family have been longtime supporters of the food bank and donated $25,000 to the Good Cheer Capital Campaign.

“There are so many ways Kim has reached out to the food bank. “They have not only supported us financially, but also by consulting. Kim and her employees have always shared their expertise with us.

Every time a customer brings in their own shopping bags to use at Payless Foods in Freeland, the store donates a nickel to the Good Cheer Food Bank. Customers can also donate the nickel per bag that Payless gives them by telling the cashier. It’s good for Good Cheer and good for the environment. Nickels add up; it should be noted that in 2009 Payless donated $10,834 from their cloth bag incentive and so far in 2010 they have already donated $5,115.60

The Clinton Foodmart

Shortly before his unexpected death, Clinton Foodmart owner Mike O’Sullivan designed a 5% gifting plan on grocery receipts (excluding alcohol and tobacco products) submitted to Good Cheer Food Bank.

This is an incredibly generous program, and we are deeply touched by the gesture. I was fortunate to have given Mike a tour of the food bank several weeks before his passing. He was surprised at the high number of food bank clients, and developed this great donation program as a result.

Mike O’Sullivan is the son of Linda Anderson and the grandson of the late Mildred and Al Anderson, longtime supporters of Good Cheer who had owned “The Big Penny” general store, the building now occupied by Good Cheer’s Langley Thrift Store. Foodmart shoppers may drop off their receipts at the nearby Good Cheer Two Clinton Thrift Store, the adjacent Clothing Rack, or Langley Good Cheer Thrift Store.

Receipts may also be brought directly to Good Cheer Food Bank in Bayview, or mailed to Good Cheer, PO Box 144, Langley, WA 98260.

After monthly receipts are totaled, they will be submitted to Clinton Foodmart Manager Clay Anderson, who will then donate 5% of the total to Good Cheer to help keep the Food Bank’s shelves stocked.

The Goose Community Grocery

Coincidences and how they help people:

This past summer, the Goose Community Grocery donated a five-minute spree to a fundraiser held by the Freeland Chamber of Commerce. The winners, Bayview residents Ed and Chris Halloran, decided to donate their spree to Good Cheer.

“We support Good Cheer and the Goose and thought it would be a fun thing to do, as well as highlight the need that the food bank has this time of year,” said Chris Halloran. “We have food, but there are those that don’t, and this is our chance to help spread the word.”

Community spirit and warm hearts go hand and hand:)

The Star Store

The Star Store has also been a great friend of the food bank. Star Store owners Gene and Tamar Felton included Good Cheer in their 25th Anniversary Celebration last May and presented Good Cheer with a donation. They have also provided support during our food drives; recently helping the Lions with their Lions Day food drive.

We thank everyone who has Good Cheer in their hearts.

Good Cheer!

The new blog site is enabling us to get information to you on a more frequent basis. Some of you, who are actively involved, will be more aware of the progress and goals that we have set.

Now that Phase One is completed it is time to move on to the next phase.

September 12th was when Laura Price, the former Board President, burned the old loan papers. Now the facility and its improvements are free and clear. Phase One involved the purchase of the former Masonic Lodge and property in Bayview, plus making renovations and constructing the addition of a freezer and refrigerator wing.

The next challenge involves opening up the second floor of The Good Cheer Langley Thrift Store. The thrift stores are the main operational funding source for the food bank. The addition of an elevator to the second floor will allow us establish office spaces, meeting rooms, storage and a place to mark and price merchandise. This will allows us to renovate the main floor and  add more floor space.

The thrift stores are what make The Good Cheer Food Bank truly unique. We don’t have to rely on governmental grants/programs and general fund raising for financial stability.

Many food banks across America are seeing shortages; we are much more stable with the support
that the thrift stores provide.

Also, unlike many other food banks in the state, Good Cheer Food Bank is open at least seven hours a day, six days a week and even provides home delivery to house-bound seniors and the disabled. A search for other similar programs has not turned up a comparable self-sustaining food bank operation in terms of scale and hours of operation in western Washington.

This successful and replicable funding approach has caught the interest of other food banks in the Northwest. With the improvement of facilities, Good Cheer will offer information to other organizations interested in this model of client services and operational sustainability.

People helping people for all the right reasons; pretty wonderful!

The additional square footage could well mean an additional $25,000 a year in revenues. This money will help to fund the operational aspect of the Food Bank. The capital campaign is currently at $1,137,00; 81% towards its $1.4 million goal.

You may ask who we are serving on South Whidbey? In 2007 Good Cheer provided food to 2,780 people. In 2008, this number jumped to 4,044, and in 2009, client numbers were once again up; 5,046 people accessed supplemental food through the Food Bank at least once during the year. In December of 2009, 830 households came to the Food Bank.

Clients include the unemployed, single mothers, seniors, the chronically ill, the physically and mentally disabled, displaced homemakers, homeless teens and families, and increasingly, the working poor.

Due to the high cost of living on South Whidbey, Good Cheer assists many families where either one or both parents are employed, the working poor. According to the U.S. 2000 census, in Freeland alone, about 10% of families and 12% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 6% of those age 65 or over. Many clients only access the Food Bank for a short time while others rely on it year round.

Please help us complete the campaign. Capital Campaign donations can be mailed to Good Cheer Capital Campaign: PO Box 144, Langley, WA 98260.

Here is a link to our Donation Page.

For information about making a pledge, building naming opportunities, and gifts of stock or property, contact Kathy McLaughlin at Good Cheer at (360) 221-6454, ext. 6.