This Pierce County food bank sees 150 families a day. City Council is dedicating funds
People who reside in East Pierce County and surrounding areas rely on the Bonney Lake Food Bank. That’s obvious, at least to people like CEO Stacey Crnich.
The food bank at 24015 state Route 410 now sees about 150 families per day. In November 2021, Crnich said they saw between 80 to 100 families per day.
“We are now serving the highest numbers that we have ever served in all of the pandemic,” Crnich said.
In a 5 to 2 vote, the Bonney Lake City Council approved during the April 12 meeting to take money from its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and allocate $150,000 to the food bank. The city would give the food bank three installments of $50,000 on June 30, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
The city’s ARPA balance is currently sitting at $4,986,418, according to city documents. After the $150,000 for the food bank, the city has $4,836,418 to allocate.
Council members Tom Watson, Gwendolyn Fullerton, Justin Evans, Dan Swatman and Deputy Mayor Terry Carter voted to approve the motion. Council members James McClimans Sr. and Angela Baldwin voted against it.
“When I told them that I wanted them to help me continue our efforts, I felt like they became a stakeholder in the community safety net that we’ve created,” Crnich said. “It felt like a partnership … I was tremendously overjoyed with that.”
The $150,000 will go toward expenses such as rent, water and power. Crnich said about 75 percent of the food bank’s funding comes from donations. Other sources of funding include grants from the state Department of Agriculture.
Since January 2020, the food bank’s total operating budget was over $3 million. It costs about $75,000 per month to run the food bank, Crnich said. The city also contributed about $40,000 to the food bank in December 2020 through federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds.
McClimans Sr. said during the April 12 meeting that he had concerns about having to pick “winners and losers.” He said he was worried the city would not be fair to other organizations if they were to allocate funding to the food bank.
“There’s a lot of credit to the food bank … I applaud the work they do,” McClimans Sr. said. “I’m just concerned that there are other organizations … that could use the help, too.”
Evans said during the April 12 meeting that in a way, allocating ARPA funds to the food bank is like giving taxpayers their money back. He said he is in full support of allocating money to the food bank because “it’s all about the community.”
The Market — the place where food bank patrons gather their goods — is filled with vegetables and meat from local producers and farmers, Crnich said. People who walk in feel as if they are in a grocery store but the difference is items are free.
“When people come into the market they feel valued and represented,” Crnich said.
Some of the local producers and farmers they partner with include Makarios Acres in Buckley, DeGoede Farms in Sumner, Sidhu Farms in Puyallup and Lamppost Coffee in Bonney Lake.
A little over 50 percent of the food bank’s patrons are Bonney Lake residents. Other patrons include people from neighboring towns such as Buckley and Sumner.
Crnich said she often receives messages from her patrons, showing her the meals they prepare after making a trip to the market. One patron also told her that not only does The Market nourish his body — it also nourishes his soul, she said.
“The conversations I have in the market are no longer about scarcity. They are about the thing that connects all cultures, which is food,” Crnich said.
This is the first time Crnich has asked the City Council for help with funding, she said. The hope is the $150,000 will help the food bank move toward a thriving and “self-sustaining place.” The funds will help with operating expenses as they continue to pursue grants and other funding.
This story was originally published April 26, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
