Puyallup gives $10,000 to provide food to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic
Puyallup City Council voted Tuesday evening to provide the food bank and another nonprofit with an additional $10,000 to meet the need during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a unanimous vote on a conference call, council members allotted $8,000 to the Puyallup Food Bank and $2,000 to All Saints Community Services, which provides food, emergency financial assistance and ministry to the homebound and sick.
Jim Beaudoin, CEO of the Puyallup Food Bank, said it is seeing four to five times more customers than usual. He doesn’t expect the increased need to slow down anytime soon.
“If we had a super vaccine tomorrow, people still have less money. They just missed out on a 12th of income. How long to recover from that?” Beaudoin said. “We’re going to see higher numbers for several months.”
The food bank has spent about $50,000 on food, so the additional $8,000 will help the nonprofit recover that, Beaudoin said.
There is such a demand for bulk food that what normally would take about 10 days is taking about two to three weeks to arrive, he said.
Puyallup sent aside $186,000 of the $133.7 million total budget last year for nonprofit organizations. Half of the additional grant money will come from a recycling program meant for public education. Because of the pandemic, the $5,000 has been reallocated.
The council discussed whether it was prudent to grant more money when the financial repercussions of the coronavirus remain unknown.
Bill sponsor, deputy mayor John Palmer, said waiting for the federal stimulus package to trickle down and relieve local businesses would be too long.
“We can get this injected this week, and it’s immediately helpful to our community,” he said on the call. “This is a human need we are addressing for $10,000.”
Council member Ned Witting suggested the council hear an update on the impacts to the budget with fewer tax dollars coming in before providing the additional $10,000. He suggested that the council wait until August.
Council member Jim Kastama said organizations need help now. All the funds being allocated across the nation to nonprofits and businesses only speaks to the gravity of the situation, Kastama said.
“These are valid, vetted recipients, and I do think also that given further analysis, we would come to the same conclusion,” he said in the council meeting “Now is the time of dire need.”
The council also opened up funding set to be released in July to nonprofits. Puyallup’s community grants are halved, giving nonprofits half in January and the other half in July. Helping Hand House’s Director Kevin Bates told the council that releasing the second portion of funding, or $52,500, would help.
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
