Snohomish Community Foodbank - Snohomish, WA

The Snohomish Community Food Bank
1330 Ferguson Park Road
Snohomish, WA 98290
(360) 568-7993

http://www.snohomishcommunityfoodbank.org/


Mission Statement

The Snohomish Community Food Bank is a non-profit organization of individuals, churches, businesses, service clubs and other charitable groups who are concerned for the welfare of needy people within the community. This life-giving resource exists to provide basic foods and services to qualified recipients in a caring, dignified and humane manner. The Food Bank serves every qualified applicant within the boundaries of the Snohomish School District and is supported solely through donations and community volunteers who solicit, manage and distribute it’s reserves. Since 1985, local citizens have screened beneficiaries, collected and distributed food, and provided social services on a weekly basis.






I contacted Karen Guzak (Mayor of Snohomish and Owner of Yoga Circle Studio - see previous post) about community service time when I was in Oroville, Wa. I asked her if she had any recommendations for directions in which I could focus my volunteer time while in Snohomish, Wa. She said that she would do some sleuthing and get back to me. I got an e-mail later that day with the contact information for the Executive Director of the Snohomish County Food Bank.

The day after I arrived in Snohomish I called the Executive Director, Elizabeth Grant and left her a message. I was hoping to give my time there the next day and began to get a little nervous when I hadn't heard back by that next morning. I called a second time and Elizabeth answered. She was very nice and said that they were open that afternoon and could use me then. I attended a yoga class at Karen's studio that morning, had some lunch, and then headed over to see what the Snohomish Community Food Bank had in store for me.

Beyond knowing they exist I didn't know anything about foodbanks, how they were run, where they got their food, or who their patrons were. Upon entering I introduced myself to Elizabeth and told her that I was ready to help. As with all of my Trip and the Trade volunteer opportunities, I made myself available for whatever they needed. She said that I could start out by helping in the stock room organizing donations.








I was showed back to the stockroom and introduced to another volunteer, you can see her in the photo above. She was a sweet girl who immediately started to explain the organization process. I was pleasantly surprised to see the high level of organization upon which this facility is run. It turns out that donations come from many places: food drives, generous citizens, grocery stores, and foods issued by the government.






Crates were stacked along all the walls and were labeled for easy sorting - soups go here, beans over there, canned vegetables over here, etc. While she and I worked, three more volunteers were brought back to help us. These three girls (photo below) were local high school students working on a required volunteer project. I noticed along my trip that many high schools are now requiring a certain amount of community service from each student before they graduate. What a wonderful way to get people involved in there community early! They were all very nice and eager to jump in and help.






After I spent an hour or so sorting, Elizabeth moved me out into the store area. I was put in charge of a station containing government issued foods. I had canned meats, bagged almonds, apple juice, boxes of soup, baby diapers, formula, and other assorted baby items.



My looking dapper in my Snohomish Community Food Bank apron






Produce





My station was across from the produce section. Another thing I noticed about this facility is the high quality of food that they offer. The produce looked great! They even had pumpkins for Halloween and pomegranates! The pumkins were donated by a fundraiser called the 'Pumpkin Float' (I think...). Instead of letting the pumpkins they used go to waste, the organizers brought all the pumpkins down to the foodbank. What a great idea!

Me assisting one of the clients

The patrons of the food bank are referred to by staff and volunteers as clients. Each station was run by a volunteer like myself. Either the volunteer is told the amount that each client is allowed or signs are posted on things like produce with the maximum number allowed for each item.

As each client approached the station before mine, I was told to look for a certain code stuck to the front of their cart with a post-it. If they had this code, they were allowed to choose one item from the government issued foods over which I was in charge. If they had another code they were given diapers and formula (if they wanted it). The diapers were organized by size and I only had to tell one or two clients that I did not have the size they needed - I was pretty well stocked. :)


Here is one of the clients and myself, he was kind enough to pose with me for the blog :)

Here is another one of the clients, he had a good sense of humor and thought it was pretty funny that I wanted to take his photo

I worked at my station for 2 to 3 more hours greeting clients and handing out food. Now I'm going to bare my soul a little bit and be very honest. When Elizabeth put me out on the store floor (and I'm so glad she did), I struggled for the first hour or so with judgement. I never let it show but inside I was fighting thoughts like: "What's the matter with these people?" "Why don't they get a job and buy their own food?" "Some of them have nicer shoes on than I do!"

I mention these thoughts and offer up my honesty to highlight the transition that happened in those few hours that I spent assisting clients. Yoga has taught me not to judge my own thoughts or their existence but rather to acknowledge them and to let them go. I employed this practice and low and behold, my thoughts of judgement transitioned into kindness, the willingness to offer dignity, and generosity. I realized that I knew nothing about the lives of these people, their struggles, or their situations. Some of these people are picking up food for their elderly parents, friends, or neighbors. Some have disabilities making them unable to work. Some of these people are retired and on fixed incomes, perhaps they are retired veterans who served the U.S. in the armed forces - the point is...I had no way of knowing. I felt great peace once I worked through my own judgement and enjoyed assisting each person.

My trainer and smiley volunteer

Elizabeth Grant, Executive Director

My experience at the Snohomish Community Food Bank was one of the most profound of The Trip and the Trade. During the time I spent there I gained far more than I gave. I walked out the doors realizing that blind judgement is ridiculous and that along with necessities, sometimes the most important thing you can offer someone is kindness and dignity. I hope that any of you that have an opportunity to volunteer in your local foodbank will seek it out and do it, the reward is great. Thank you so much to Karen Guzak and Elizabeth Grant for affording me the opportunity to release judgement and give to your community.

Yoga Circle Studio - Snohomish, WA

Karen Guzak's
Yoga Circle Studio

http://www.yogacirclestudio.com/

Yoga Circle Studio was established in November of 2003, and is dedicated to providing a caring, non competitive, and beautiful environment that promotes self acceptance, happiness and improved health through Yoga and related body/mind practices.


Their teachers are experienced, wise, and well trained to help you increase your flexibility, strength, and peace of mind. Classes for all levels of experience are available seven days a week.
Yoga Circle Studio is a spa for your spirit, dedicted to honor and celebrate the circle of life.



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I first learned about the Yoga Circle Studio from my very good friend, Sara Reed. Sara and I became friends when we were roommates in college at Whitman. Sara has been very supportive of The Trip and the Trade and was quick to put me in contact with Karen. Sara worked for Karen for a couple years and they have remained friends.



Karen Guzak is a dynamic woman! She is a yoga instructor, founded Yoga Circle Studio, is a prolific artist, and just happens to be the Mayor of Snohomish. Pretty amazing, no? I have to also mention Karen's fantastic home. Karen's home is a repurposed church and one of the most intriguing and special living spaces I've ever seen. The original building intent provides this space with lofty ceiling heights, an interesting floor plan, and many windows. Karen remodeled this structure and has infused every corner with art and things she loves. I could spend hours wandering around Karen's home touching and and looking at all the beautiful things. Then...there's the landscape... I could go on and on about her amazing garden.


Here is a link to a story that tells more about Karen and her partner Warner's home:



http://www.angelarmsworks.org/about-2/






Karen Guzak


http://www.karenguzak.com/



After communicating with Karen, I was very excited to take a class with her. My cousin Erica, a newcomer to yoga, was going to join me. I love introducing people to yoga! Upon entering the studio I was not at all suprised to find a beautifully decorated space.

Shortly after the door closed behind us, we were greeted by Dorothy who told us that Karen had been called away to an emergency Mayor's meeting and that she would be subsituting for her that morning. I immediately liked Dorothy and although I was sad not to be taking a class with Karen, I was excited to practice with Dorothy!

Meanwhile, Arthur (the doberman) had to wait in the car. Apparently he wasn't too keen on this as he decided to move into the front seat and fiddle with things until he set off the car alarm. Not having ever set off the alarm, it took me a minute to figure out how to turn it off. Once the ear piercing sound had ceased I gave Arthur the 'You better straighten up and fly right' look and back inside I went.

Dorothy has been studying movement technique and theory since she was four years old. She has studied with many master teachers. Her approach is light and loving while she imparts her considerable depth of expertise in the yoga poses. She is currently working on a degree in comparative Greek & Indian philosophy & philology.

After Erica and I signed in, we went into the studio space to get ourselves organized. As Erica and I sat and waited for the rest of the class to arrive, I told her some basic things that I wished someone had told me when I first started practicing yoga. Erica listened and was open to what I had to say and slowly the other yogis began to filter in. The studio space was completely full, we even had to shuffle some of our mats around to make sure everyone could fit.

Dorothy started the class with a gradual warm up. Beginning in a cross legged position she guided us through a practice in awareness. As we circled our torsos around our hips and knees, Dorothy encouraged us to think about our body/mind connection and where our bodies were in space.

Some of Karen's art is transferred on to the studio windows, stunning.

When I first met Dorothy, she came across as fairly soft spoken. I don't know why I even bother with first impressions anymore.

After Dorothy moved us from our initial seated position onto our feet she 'grabbed another gear' and her passion for yoga became clear. All of a sudden 'soft-spoken Dorothy' became 'Dorothy, the yoga jedi'. It was awesome! From this point until savasana, she lead the class using inflection in her voice and positive reinforcement to encourage us to make necessary alignment changes and to constantly reach for our edge in each stretch.

Dorothy guided us through long holds in poses like 'side-angle' while she walked through the class gently adjusting people and consistently asking us to go deeper into the pose without compromising form. Throughout all poses, Dorothy reminded us to find space between joints, to widen our collar bones, and to lengthen.

At the end of class, Dorothy provided us with a very effective method for clearing our minds. Throughout savasana she encouraged us to shed concerns, shed, worries, and shed fears - to let these things fall away like layers. I loved this imagery!

After our class Dorothy introduced me and I explained The Trip and the Trade. The class was more than happy to cuddle up for a photo. Thank you for the wonderful class, Dorothy, and thank you Karen - I'll look forward to your class next time I'm in town!

Oroville, WA to Snohomish, WA

Favorite song along this stretch: Mumford & Sons' - 'Little Lion Man'

'Home' - Oroville, Wa

Oroville, WA

Population: 1653

Latitude: 48.939
Longitude: -119.433

County: Okanogan

Avg. Temperatures:

January: 21 to 32 F
April: 37 to 65 F
July: 54 to 86 F
October: 37 to 61 F

Annual Precipitation: 11.5 inches

Reason it's part of my blog: I spent almost 18 years here, it's my home.

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Growing up in Oroville, WA was pretty great. I played basketball and tennis, rode my horse all over the mountains, and knew that at any given time I could walk into pretty much anyone's home and they would ask me if I would like to sit down and have something to eat. During the summers I would swim in the lake, water ski, and ride my horse. Molly (picture shows up later) and I used to ride our horses around the south end of Osoyoos Lake to Deep Bay Park. We would ride our horses into the water, stand on their backs, and dive off. These are the kind of things that you grow up doing in Oroville. Of course, there were complications like the fact that we could never train them to wait for us to swim back to them - they would charge riderless out of the water to the beach. We solved this by politely yelling to the random Canadian tourist to please grab the horses! We'd swim to shore in a minute!

It was also while living in Oroville that I solved the problem of my horse continuing to escape from her pasture by ordering a dog tag with our address and phone number and attaching it to her halter. This seemed like a logical thing to do. So... at 5 a.m. one morning the Whistle Stop Cafe downtown (no kidding - that's what it was called) called to alert us that my horse was eating the grass in their parking lot. Of course I had used The Funeral Home (family business) phone number because someone ALWAYS answered THAT phone. I'm sure that that only added another layer to this already confusing situation for the waitress that called. ANYWAY...that's a snapshot of what it was like to grow up in Oroville, WA.


My time back in Oroville during The Trip and the Trade was a little compromised because I was sick with a cold but it was still nice. I was excited to hear that the the table grape vines still had a lot of fruit on them. My Dad planted a lot of varieties and they are good!





Recently, a cat decided to take up residence at my parents' house. My mother especially is not very pleased about this but they put up with him. One of Arthur's favorite activities while in Oroville was to initiate staredowns with the cat.




It was apple harvest time when I was home. I haven't been home during harvest for years! It rained for much of the time I was there but there was one day that was dry enough for the crew to move through for one color selective pick. My parents' home is surrounded on all sides by apples: red delicious, golden delicious, and fujis. The fujis were the only ones left to pick.

Upon hearing that my Dad has orchards people will say, "Oh! I'd love to come up during harvest!" I always jokingly warn them to come before or after because they might get put to work picking apples. Never fails, they always say, "Sure! That'd be fun!" There is just no graceful way to say this...picking apples sucks. The fruit is heavy, you have to go up and down the ladder, not bruise or stem the apples, and be very careful when you transfer them into the bins. Trust me people, you do not want to go on vacation to pick apples.

You DO however, want to eat them! My Dad is a great farmer, he grows some of the best apples around.

Here's Sinforiano taking a bin of apples down to the area where they stack them for the semi-trucks from the warehouse to come pick them up. Sinforiano is my Dad's right hand man, a hard-working good person - he's been with our family for almost 25 years.

You can see 'Number Mountain' in the background. This is quite the Oroville phenomenon. The tradition is for every highschool graduating class to either climb up from the bottom or repel from the top to paint their graduation year on the face. I haven't seen too many current years, apparently the younger generations are smarter than we were.

My Mom always does such a great job making the house look beautiful with her gardening.

I love the view from my parents' front porch, I can see all the way into Canada.

Next on the list of things to do while I was home was visit my Dad's vineyard. He grows Pinot Noir and Gewurtztraminer grapes. Our wines are sold throughout the northwest and recently we were able to get them into the Las Vegas market - pretty excited about that!

www.okanoganwine.com

The vineyard runs down the hill towards Lake Osoyoos, the lake we share with Canada.

Next stop...Okanogan Estates Winery!

Dad with his wine :)

Then - we had to take a run down to the family business.

The Bergh Funeral Service has been in our family for four generations. Growing up in this business, I never thought it was odd. Once I moved away I started to realize that many people thought that the funeral business was weird and creepy. This never made sense to me. The words I would use to describe the funeral business are: necessary and important. My father and my cousin Scott who now run the business do an amazing job making very difficult times as easy as possible for people who face the loss of a loved one. They are very good at what they do.

Next, we drove by a mural in town. Our family commissioned a piece that shows a scene from our vineyard representing the wine industry in the Valley. The mural really beautifies the side of an otherwise non-descript building.

A trip back home just wouldn't be complete without a visit from Molly (above mentioned horse diving partner extraordinaire).

Molly and I grew up right next to each other since we were 3 years old. She no longer lives in Oroville but is always great about making the 2 hour trek up from Ephrata when I'm home.

My cousin, Scott, is a big game hunter. He goes on multiple hunting excursions every year and always has some wild game meat available for cooking. His family doesn't like to eat it with him but I - on the other hand - am always a willing participant! He cooked up some elk and venison round steak and it was delicious!

It was great getting to have dinner with Scott and his family. I got to catch up with his wife Bennie and daughters Ali and Kendall.

Being home in Oroville is always good. Getting to see my family and friends is wonderful. The people there will always hold a special place in my heart.