Letter from the Director (Fall 2024)

Happy Fall! 🍂

As we move toward cooler weather with each calendar day and our holiday season starts creeping closer, there are several things on my mind and in my heart. First, the Bremerton Foodline team and myself are grateful for all the support we’ve received throughout 2024. The ability to serve and meet a massively growing need has been made possible because of the generosity of our community. Second, the growing need weighs heavy on my heart because our neighbors are truly struggling to get enough food in their cupboards and maintain/acquire stable housing.

In 2024, Bremerton Foodline served over 18,000 unique individuals, which is 7,000 more individuals than we served in all of 2023. This is a 157% increase and we are only 9 months into the year. This is a massive increase by any food bank standards.

With that in mind, there are a couple of myths I’d like to dispel today.

MYTHS:

• It’s mostly people who are homeless that visit Food Banks..
• Food Banks give out pre-made boxes of food.
• Food Banks only give out non-perishable food items.
• People who visit Food Banks are unemployed.
• People who visit Food Banks ‘should not’ drive nice cars or have a smartphone.

Ok… This is a lot to unpack. At Bremerton Foodline, we have zero judgments if any of these myths have crossed your mind as truths. We are here to educate our community and share the stories of real people we serve.

People who shop in our food pantry are people you might work beside, people your children go to school with, people who serve you coffee every day, people who teach your kids, take care of your aging parents, see you when you are sick, and show up for you when there’s an emergency. 

30% of the people we serve are children under the age of 18 and another 30% of the people we serve are seniors over the age of 60. This means that 60% of the people benefiting from our services are our most vulnerable populations. Most of the households we serve are employed with one or more jobs in order to make ends meet each month. 1 in 5 Bremerton residents are living below the poverty line and low wages combined with a high cost of living force many community members to need consistent support from food banks to maintain basic sustainability. 

There are many reasons a person might do their shopping in a food pantry: change in income, starting to build their education, a new baby has joined their household, job loss, the need to care for an aging family member, an accident, or an illness. According to research from Charles Schwab, 59% of Americans are one paycheck from homelessness. In many many many situations, poverty and food insecurity are hidden from mainstream society because of stigma and fear of judgment. 

At the Bremerton Foodline, we do not judge or make assumptions. We recognize the need for critical things like transportation, technology, and access to healthy food. In today’s society, access to a smartphone and vehicle is critical in many ways. They both give families access to critical information and the ability to get their needs met. Schools, jobs, and emergency information all require access to the internet on a regular basis. Communication and connection are critical aspects of decreasing loneliness. 

We have many clients who share cars with family or neighbors, who owned a car prior to having financial challenges, who live in the car you see them pull up to the food bank in, who were gifted a car, or who are driving cars that do not have updated maintenance or insurance because of affordability. Vehicles can be a necessity for getting to work, school, health care, and food resources. Yes, there are public transportation options, but busing to and from a grocery store with multiple children and long walks is not feasible for everyone.

Lastly, at Bremerton Foodline we have a self-serve grocery store-style pantry where shoppers have their own cart, make choices about what they would like, and shop independently. At Bremerton Foodline we offer meat, fruit, vegetables, dairy products, toiletry items, menstrual products, diapers, and nonperishable canned goods. Our goal is to grow and offer more culturally diverse and healthy products, hygiene items, and baby supplies.

Nothing would bring our team more joy this season than to be able to connect individually with all our supporters. We want to have deep conversations about the needs we are seeing and engage you more in our work. Financial support is always needed but, more importantly, we need as many ambassadors as we can rally. Allies who can help us decrease any stigmas and myths that exist and enhance a greater understanding throughout our community about who and why people visit critical services like food pantries. 

Thank YOU for already being a part of our team!

Cori Kauk
Executive Director, Bremerton Foodline