We’ve been so impressed with the grace and strength of all our Partner Programs as they adapted to the COVID-19 crisis. This quarter, we’d like to highlight a little pantry that took on the challenge of completely revising their service model in a short time to safely feed their community and meet growing need.  

Before the pandemic, Bonney Lake Food Bank was receiving around 750 visits per month, operating with a self-select model that allowed guests to make their way through the aisles, guided by a volunteer, to choose their items. In the past two years, the food bank has also been operating a kids’ Backpack Program that provided meals to high need children in eight schools near the pantry, filling kids’ backpacks with food on Friday afternoon so they could have food over the weekend. The two-year-old program was already reaching 550 children by the end of 2019. All of the behind the scenes work was being done in a small space in need of renovation, and outdated equipment that slowed down their ability to serve.   

When COVID-19 hit, the difficulties seemed to multiply all at once. Even as the number of people seeking assistance rose, food donations decreased by 80%, and 90% of their volunteers stayed home because of high risk status. Already overtaxed equipment began to fail. But rather than give up, volunteers and staff began the hard work to pivot their service for a new reality. Brand new executive director Stacey Crnich shut down the pantry for the last week of March, and volunteers used a social distancing assembly line to pack 400 boxes of food to be distributed through a bi-weekly curbside pickup model. But even this, they realized, would not be a sustainable system as it became clear that the stay-in-place was here for the foreseeable future. What followed was another major transition, this time to no-contact home delivery.

By June, Bonney Lake Food Bank vehicles were delivering food every day of the week throughout east Pierce County. Generous donations from the community and the arrival of three dedicated National Guard members have added to their ability to continue their response. The much-needed funds allowed them to purchase additional refrigerators and vehicles. Now they are delivering about 1,600 boxes per month. Each time a volunteer arrives with a delivery, they are bringing 12-15 meals that the households would otherwise have gone without.  

What’s next for Bonney Lake Food Bank? Even after the Coronavirus crisis passes, they plan to keep offering home delivery as an option. In the meantime, they’ll continue to adapt day by day and do whatever they need to do to feed their community. If you want to be a part of their work, you can donate food or finances. They are limiting volunteers right now, but if you are low-risk for COVID-19 and would like to help, you can fill out their volunteer form here.   

Bonney Lake Food Bank  

18409 Veterans Memorial Drive  
Bonney Lake, WA 98391  

Contact: Info@bonneylakefoodbank.org