The Good Cheer Thrift Stores work because you make it possible. Without your donations the whole premise behind the Good Cheer Food Bank evaporates. We are currently running a little short on donations so keep that in mind as you start your spring cleaning.

The whole process starts with your donations. You should know that the items in high demand are housewares, linens, tools, books, men’s clothing, children’s clothing, antiques, jewelry, small appliances, and furniture.

When considering donating items to Good Cheer, please ask yourself; “Is this something that I would buy. Are my donations clean, complete, usable and saleable?”

If an item is donated and it is soiled; the expense of cleaning is just too much for Good Cheer. Some volunteers, in the past, actually would take the soiled clothing home and clean them. Obviously, that was not the answer.

Just a heads up on the issue.

This is where it starts as Good Cheer turns old furniture, clothes, appliances and knick-knacks into food for hungry families and individuals on South Whidbey.

To find out more about where to bring your donations and a list of items that we cannot accept click here.

The items are then sorted, placed into labeled boxes and put into storage.  The volunteers  then pull the boxes and  the items are priced and placed in plastic containers. The truck drivers then deliver the merchandise to the two thrift stores where it is merchandised and ready for sale.

Rita  Burns the Operations Manager at Good Cheer clearly states the importance of the volunteers at Good Cheer. Don Roan is her right hand man and has been around for as long as she can remember. His experience in pricing is an integral part of the operation. Sean McLaughlin spends 6-8 hours a day six days a week volunteering. He specializes in electronics and tests merchandise to make sure that it works.

If you find that the merchandise isn’t working; Good Cheer has a 3 day return policy. You can return the merchandise and receive a store credit.

Max the Good Cheer Guard Dog. Yikes!

Each sales ticket is marked with a date and after a period of time the item will repriced. There are a number of sales that take place and we will try to keep you informed on this blog. Remember, the Bag Sale, it happens on the first Tuesday of every month. You should note that some sales may exclude new merchandise. Be sure to check with the salesperson if you have any questions. They will be happy to help you out.

You can write a comment by clicking comments or no responses at the top right corner of this article.

Good Cheer!

We are the World began 25 years ago to support famine relief in Africa. Much has happened in this World of ours; the People of the World have begun to open their eyes and ears. You can just sense that humanity is ready for a change; though some will fight that change.

The World is a community of People who outside the structure of our societies truly desire to do good. We are truly a family of the Universe, here on Earth, and we can choose to bring light into the lives of others.

We are the Children. We all have a child that is still inside of us and for that we should all be grateful. There is a certain resiliency in children; a peace and happiness about life that we all can plainly see. Yes, we can come together and make this a better world.

Somewhere in every person’s soul are the seeds of kindness and compassion. Why it is not nourished is the question that we must ask ourselves. Why do we need to be right? Why do we fear other cultures?

There is a beauty to this World and it lies within in it’s People.

Your compassion for the food bank here on South Whidbey is a gift from the Universe.

Thank you.

You can view the “We are the World 25″ video by just clicking on the photo below; remember to view the video in full screen since it will give you a better visual impact.  .

Prima Bistro in Langley recently hosted an event supporting aid to Haiti. A fellow blogger had a nice piece about the restaurant; you can click here to view his post.

We have a HELP Network on South Whidbey Island that is truly amazing. Perhaps it’s time that we do our part in getting the word out! I plan on writing a post about each of these organizations over the next few months. People helping people and in so many ways.

Gary Zukov wrote in his book, The Seat of the Soul, that “millions of individuals are awakening  sometimes to their surprise  to a hunger for harmony, cooperation, sharing, and reverence for Life. Their challenge is to create those things in a world of discord, competition, hoarding, and exploitation, a world in which life is a cheap commodity.”

I’m currently reading a book called “Blessed Unrest” which is a story about how the largest movement in the World came into being and why no one saw it coming. The author is Paul Hawken and the book was released in 2007.

In Hawken’s book he identifies one to two million organizations working toward ecological sustainability and social justice. This social movement is decentralized and has no specific leaders; hence no media following. “This is the largest social movement in all of human history. No one knows it’s scope, and how it functions is more mysterious than what meets the eye.”

“What does meet the eye is compelling: coherent, organic, self-organized congregations involving tens of millions of people dedicated to change. What I see are ordinary people willing to confront despair, power, and incalculable odds in an attempt to restore some semblance of grace, justice, and beauty in this world.”

“Collectively, it expresses the need of the majority of people on earth to sustain the environment, wage peace, democratize decision making and policy, reinvent public governance piece by piece from the bottom up, and improve the lives of women, children and the poor. Throughout history, armies, corporations, religious rulers, and political zealots have overpowered the majority world, which in our upside down world we consider to be minorities.”

It is very evident that we have our own movement right here on South Whidbey Island.

We have The HELP Network! You can visit their websites by just clicking on their logo.

All of us working together to help strengthen our community!!!

The real story behind the success of the Good Cheer Food Bank are the people. People like Damien Cortez, the food bank coordinator, and the many volunteers who devote their time and energy. These are the frontline people who make this charity work. Damien is on the far left in the above photo.

I wanted to spend some time explaining the process of becoming a client of the food bank. Many of our clients have the ability of using the Food Stamp Program that is made possible through DSHS. The problem that many people find is that their benefits can be relatively small. The poverty threshold in America for a single person is $10,830 and for a family of four the number goes to $22,050.

The Opportunity Council is a great resource for a number of programs that can help you through the tough times. You can find information on programs that include food, nutrition, energy, shelter, and child care.

I have a friend who is currently unemployed and has a $1500 monthly social security benefit. He applied for Food Stamps and his benefits were only $16 a month; not much help. Living on such a tight budget presents a number of problems. What happens if you need to replace a tire or get new corrective lenses? You just put the problem off and that is not a good solution.

With that in mind, consider what the food bank can do to help. Perhaps a food supplement from the Good Cheer Food Bank might just save you a little money to ease some of your problems. Pride can always be an issue but that is just your ego talking to you. We are here to help the community and make the tough times a little easier.

Becoming a client at the food bank is very easy; we trust you when you say you need food. Good Cheer serves the community of South Whidbey; the boundary is Bakken Road just before the Greenbank store. If you live south of that area you quailty as a client.

The proof of residency can be a rental or lease agreement, a receipt of that rent or lease, a utility bill, pay check stub, a note from your landlord or any official mailing that comes to your address. Bring that and you are in!

Priya, one of our volunteers who may assist you, will take your information and set you up with an account. She will help you determine how many points you qualify for. A single person receives 70 points for the month; you receive an additional 10 points for every other family member.

You will then have an account at the food bank. You can access the food bank more than once during the month; just bear in mind that you can only use the number of points that you are allotted for the month.

A volunteer, perhaps Ula, will show you around the food bank and explain the points system and answer any questions that you may have. You will be given a shopping worksheet so that you can track the points that you have used. This information goes on file so that you will know know many points that you have left for the month after your visit.

I mention Ula since she is quite a big help to the food bank. She is a coupon cutter and her hard work allows us to get tremendous value for the money that we spend on food.

A few things that you should know:

Sometimes we have excess goods that are zero point items; you can take all that you can use.

All baby items are free (infants 2 years or younger) make sure to document this when you register.

If you bring your own shopping bags you receive an extra three points for the month.

It is pretty amazing what 70 points will provide in the way of food. You’ll find that fresh vegetables and fruits don’t cost you much in points and you can get a bag full of them; spring and summer will be nice with the fresh produce from the Good Cheer Garden. You will find that less healthy food like cookies will cost you more points. Remember the free items; for example pinto beans are healthy, provide fibre for your diet and taste good.

Good Cheer!

Hunger in America is a sad reality that we all must understand. This series on the Good Cheer Blogspot will attempt to be your eyes and ears on hunger in America and what we are doing locally to do our part in helping the people in the community.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released a tragic report on hunger in America. The report found that 49 million Americans; about 16% of the population lacked dependable access to adequate food last year. That was an increase of 13 million people over the previous year, when 12 percent of Americans faced what the government calls “food insecurity.” Of that number 23% were children.

You might ask what is food insecurity? When you don’t have the money you tend to eat cheaper foods which are often less nutritious. Sure there is the dollar menu at McDonalds but we all know that fast food is not good. People also tend to buy more processed foods which are higher in sodium and often filled with other chemicals.

People are turning more and more to food banks to supplement their food stamps. The hardest hit are the single parent families where one in three single mothers reported that they struggle to keep their families fed.

The people of South Whidbey can look at The Good Cheer Food Bank and Thrift Stores with a real sense of pride. The Thrift Stores are a big part of the program since they help to provide additional funds for the purchase of food for those who are in need.

The Good Cheer Garden is all about good nutrition straight from the earth.

Good Cheer has a great program for kids in their WIN Program. Whidbey Island Nourishes is sponsored by Good Cheer. This is a volunteer effort that provides free, nutritious sack lunches to people in need (especially children).

Without your support we would find it difficult to be your steward in the fight against hunger in the community.

Thank you for being there.

If you have a some time to view a short video; “Food for Thought: What is Hunger in America” is worth your time.

Just click on our thanks to you above!