The East County Family Resource Center in Washougal, Washington, is facing a critical shortage of food supplies, prompting a call for urgent community donations. With the annual Stuff The Bus food drive falling short, the center's leaders are scrambling to find alternative ways to replenish their depleted stocks and ensure they can continue supporting local families in need.

Feeding Families, Fueling Hope

Backpack Program Provides Weekend Sustenance

The East County Family Resource Center plays a vital role in the Washougal community, operating an on-site food pantry and supplying food for the local school district's weekly backpack program. This initiative ensures that children from low-income families have access to nutritious meals even when they're not in school, filling the gap during weekends and school breaks.The backpack program is a lifeline for many students, providing them with easy-to-prepare foods like peanut butter, crackers, oatmeal, and canned goods. "A lot of our kids in Camas and Washougal school districts are on free and reduced lunch, so they're getting breakfast and lunch at school," explains Adrienne Mason, the Southwest Washington regional director for Akin, the Resource Center's main tenant. "But we're not necessarily sure what food access looks like at home, so the idea is to send them home Friday with food in a backpack to get them through the weekend until they get back to school for breakfast and lunch."With the center's food supply dwindling, the backpack program is facing a critical shortage, putting these vulnerable children at risk of going hungry over the weekends. "We pack those bags with easy-to-prepare foods that kiddos could prepare for themselves," says Mason, "and those foods are harder to come by; (they're) not automatically what you get from a food bank. We are running really low on (those items)."

Food Pantry Provides Emergency Assistance

In addition to the backpack program, the East County Family Resource Center operates a food pantry that serves as a vital resource for local families in need. "Those types of foods are really in high demand — pastas, pasta sauce, rice, tuna fish, peanut butter, jelly, all those sorts of items," says Mason. "You can get pasta, canned food, cereal, meat — typical food pantry stuff. The backpack program is our first priority, making sure people who are relying on that have that. But it is really important for our food pantry to also be stocked in the lobby. These are folks coming in for emergency food assistance to feed families."However, the center's food pantry shelves are rapidly emptying, leaving the staff concerned about their ability to continue providing this essential service. "At the end of this week, we'll be out of food there," warns Mason.

Inflation and Rising Costs Strain Resources

The primary driver behind the center's food shortage is the fact that the 2023 Stuff The Bus community food drive "was a little lighter than usual," according to Mason. Historically, this annual event has been the main source of food donations for the Resource Center, but last year's haul was not enough to sustain their operations.Adding to the challenge, the center has seen a significant increase in demand for its services over the past 12 months, driven by the rising costs of groceries and other essential items. "With inflation and the cost of food, we've seen the number of folks coming in for food increasing, so that depleted our supply a little earlier," explains Mason.This surge in demand has forced the center's leaders to make difficult choices, such as whether to prioritize purchasing food or diapers for the families they serve. "Inflation doesn't just impact the cost of groceries. When I talk about Akin having to choose whether we're going to buy food or diapers, those are the direct decisions that our families are making every single day," says Mason.

Seeking Community Support to Bridge the Gap

In response to the dwindling food supply, the East County Family Resource Center has taken several steps to bolster their resources. They have established a contract with the Clark County Food Bank to supplement their inventory, with twice-weekly deliveries to the Washougal location. However, this additional support only addresses the needs of the food pantry and does not provide the specialized items required for the backpack program."Typically, we just stock our Vancouver office with (Clark County Food Bank food)," explains Mason, "but we added Washougal this summer to help build up and supplement (our) supply. I think we're up to twice a week (food bank runs) for Washougal, but that really only supports that food pantry, and it doesn't allow for maximum choice for folks, so we are spending some set-aside dollars (of our own to boost food supply)."With the Stuff The Bus drive still months away, the center is now turning to the community for urgent support. "We're just waiting until Stuff the Bus," says Mason, "but other than that, we're just waiting until Stuff the Bus."Reuben Cottingham, Akin's manager for the Resource Center, emphasizes the importance of community involvement in sustaining the center's operations. "I'm so thankful for the Clark County Food Bank and the amount of donations we get from Stuff The Bus," he says, "but we're seeing that it just may not be enough, so we're hoping that the community can help us out a little."The East County Family Resource Center is calling on local residents, businesses, and organizations to step up and contribute food donations to help replenish their depleted supplies. Whether it's through monetary contributions, food drives, or direct donations, every bit of support can make a significant difference in the lives of the families they serve."I'm pretty optimistic," Cottingham says. "Once we understand what happens when we band together as a family, cool things can happen. But for that amazing story to be told, hard work has to be done first. I'm new to Akin, but from the stories that I've heard, Washougal is a community that knows how to come together and get things done so that people who are less fortunate can continue to move forward in their own lives."