Emergency panel hears disaster food options

There’s food for thought, and food for survival.

Both were addressed during the 75-minute La Conner Emergency Management Commission meeting at Maple Hall last week.

During their June 4 public session, commissioners invested more thought into their ongoing development of a Community Emergency Management Plan and studied the role the La Conner Sunrise Food Bank could fill should a local disaster occur.

Food Bank board chair John Petrich, who has an extensive background in housing and utilities management, was the commission’s guest speaker. He stressed how the group is eager to help La Conner prepare for and respond to emergencies.

“We want to be a partner in emergency planning,” Petrich said. “We would like to partner in any way the food bank is able to. We know how important it is to have a supplemental food supply available in an emergency.”

Petrich said the food bank, which serves 100 to 120 families and distributes over a ton of food weekly, could provide ample emergency support when needed. The food bank is stocked with several weeks of non-perishable items and can provide two to three weeks of frozen food if its freezers stay on.

Manpower is another asset, said Petrich.

“We have a pretty good cadre of volunteers,” he said. “We have about 30 of them. The food bank is a nice avocation for the volunteers to rally around.”

In addition to on-site Monday distributions, the food bank makes 45-50 home deliveries per week.

Commission chair Jerry George said his recent conversations with Mayor Marna Hanneman have focused on how to increase community involvement in emergency planning. Bringing the food bank on board was a no-brainer.

“Post-disaster, the food bank will be a vital resource,” George said.

The panel spent the bulk of 2023 – its first year – crafting and implementing short-term flood mitigation measures. At present, the commission is putting together a CEMP that will provide a blueprint for all emergency responses.

During its July meeting, the commission will assess and rank about 20 hazardous conditions. Those include, but aren’t limited to, extreme weather, earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, windstorms, urban and wildland fires and cyberattacks.

“We’ve accomplished a lot to be where we are,” George said.