La Conner Sunrise Food Bank bright spot amid virus crisis

Pandemic or not, the sun doesn’t set on the La Conner Sunrise Food Bank.

“The biggest message,” says Michelle Havist, director of the local food pantry, “is just that we’re here. There are people, clients and donors alike, still learning that La Conner has a food bank.”

And it is one for which community support has increased during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, she said.

“The community has been great,” said Havist, who doubles as general manager of the Weekly News. “Donations picked up as soon as COVID-19 hit.”

Those donations include fresh produce from La Conner area farms and residences.

“We have people who donate from their home gardens,” Havist said. “Roger Byrn has a beautiful garden and allows people to go in and harvest and we’re looking to do that again.”

The number of people and households served weekly by the food bank varies, she said. From last October through February of this year the food bank served between 90 and 105 households per week. That rose to 125 in March in the wake of COVID-19.

In June, numbers again hovered around 105 each week.

“We’re back down close to normal,” she said. “The numbers fluctuate due to a lot of different factors. A big reason is that we’re a supplemental food source.”

But household numbers tell only part of the story.

“The number of individuals we are serving has increased,” said Havist, “because household sizes have increased. There has been more demand.”

Thus far, the food bank has been able to meet that demand. Commercial sources have supplied more pre-packaged food boxes, which tend to be heavier.

“What’s interesting is that the pounds (of food) per week we’re providing increased from nine to 17 in June,” Havist said. “People are getting more food than pre-COVID-19.”

Because of state and Centers for Disease Control social distancing guidelines, fewer volunteers can be used to prepare items for distribution each Monday. Since the coronavirus outbreak, the food bank has employed a curbside pick-up system, yet another adjustment to the fluid nature of COVID-19.

“People used to be able to come in and shop for specific needs,” said Havist.

Food bank volunteers now often must break down the pre-packaged food boxes into more manageable containers while anticipating what items families will need for pick-up.

“We always try to include protein,” Havist said.

In addition to curbside pick-up, the Food Bank also provides mobile delivery to those without transportation or who otherwise are unable to leave their homes. Havist said this is one service feature where additional volunteers might be needed.

“If demand increases,” she said, “this would be an area of need for more volunteers to drive.”

Fortunately, La Conner Sunrise Food Bank was fairly well positioned to weather COVID-19 when it struck this spring. The Food Bank had held a successful fundraiser event in January, part of a concerted public awareness campaign.

“That’s one thing that really helped with our outreach,” Havist said. “We can’t thank the community enough for its support.”