There\u2019s nothing quite like the Rainier Valley Food Bank, where families can discuss recipes as they shop for produce, parents can take home needed baby care products free of charge, and volunteers can become employees on a career path.<\/p>\n
After a $17 million renovation completed this fall, the food bank now embodies the full community resource center that it is, according to Executive Director Gloria Hatcher-Mays.<\/p>\n
Rainier Valley families and their neighbors can access a community resource library, home delivery for food, and assistance connecting to needed services, be it housing support or employment opportunities.<\/p>\n
The food bank provides free weekend meals for kids in South Seattle who might otherwise go without.<\/p>\n
Soon, the food bank will allow folks to reserve a shopping time. That means parents don\u2019t have to stand in long lines with kids. Once inside the building, the shopping experience is like that of a real grocery store, rather than the traditional food bank approach where visitors receive bags of food items they didn\u2019t pick.<\/p>\n
Hatcher-Mays says families come into Rainier Valley Food Bank with dinner recipes in mind, not just hoping to receive something their kids will eat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have real displays, stand-up coolers, it looks like a Safeway,\u201d said Hatcher-Mays.<\/p>\n
She points out that many food bank staff live in the Rainier Valley and started as volunteers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t just hire our volunteers, we put them on a career path,\u201d said Hatcher-Mays. Inspired by a UW study that showed human service workers are paid significantly less than other industries, the food bank pays nearly double the city\u2019s minimum wage.<\/p>\n
Food Services Manager Otis Pimpleton explained: \u201cWe are really focused on having plans for people. If there isn\u2019t a place to move up here, we work to improve their resume.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pimpleton started working in the food bank\u2019s warehouse and now heads up a team of four people. Together, they provide more than 800 home deliveries a week and 120 to-go lunches a day, in addition to working with the food bank\u2019s outdoor pop-up in the parking lot of the Paradise Baptist Church and food services in the new building.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are close to two schools,\u201d said Pimpleton, \u201cso we\u2019re trying to attract more students for our to-go lunches.\u201d<\/p>\n
What sets Rainier Valley apart isn\u2019t their lovely new setting, it\u2019s the way they operate. The food bank works in concert with other food banks \u2014 not in competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we speak in one voice, with connected efforts, it becomes food system support,\u201d said Hatcher-Mays.<\/p>\n