East Pierce County food banks merge in effort to better serve those in need
The Sumner Food Bank and Bonney Lake Food Bank have announced plans to combine into one nonprofit organization.
The combined organization would be in a better position to share resources and ensure long-term financial sustainability, according to a March 29 news release.
Bonney Lake Food Bank’s CEO Stacey Crnich will head the new organization.
“We can help each other,” Crnich said. “The gaps we each had were filled by each other, and we can serve better together.”
The food banks began talking about a merger four months ago after being stretched by the pandemic, Crnich said. The need for food has seen a tremendous surge during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sumner Food Bank’s numbers doubled from 625 family households served monthly before the pandemic to more than 1,200 now, said John Rader, chairperson of the Sumner Food Bank. Bonney Lake saw a 700 percent increase in households seeking food from 2019 to 2020, averaging about 4,500 individuals served a week, according to data provided by the food bank.
Bonney Lake has tried to innovate during the pandemic. Clients now can be delivered food at their home and sign up for services using text messaging.
“We are dignity-forward,” Crnich said. “We have unmarked vans that look just like an Amazon delivery, and our customers get them in grocery bags just like everyone else.”
Rader said Sumner wants to bring the same services, like a drive-thru.
“We had a lot of strength in volunteers and the community we have behind us. We have that base that’s dedicated,” Rader said. “Last year when (Crnich) came on in Bonney Lake, they started to have more advanced technology than we have. I call it a synergy of equals.”
Sumner wants to add Bonney Lake’s delivery service and texting, and Bonney Lake wants the incorporate backing that Sumner’s 30 plus years in the community brings.
During the pandemic, Crnich said it’s more important than ever to remain sustainable. With more clients, food costs increase.
In 2020, 70 percent of the Bonney Lake Food Bank’s funding came from federal and foundation grants, Crnich said.
“Our budget went from $6,000 a month to $50,000 a month,” she said. “We have been able to leverage resources really well, that is something that we do, we do well, but sustainability is at the forefront of our thought.”
The joint food bank is looking to create a diverse funding path forward. Currently, Bonney Lake relies heavily on community donations, Crnich said.
“It’s completely different in Sumner. Sumner is primarily funded by corporate and local businesses and organizations,” she said.
The locations will remain the same. Leadership is seeing the merge as a “town and country” style nonprofit, with the Sumner location on Main Street downtown and Bonney Lake’s on a farm at 24015 State Route 410. The Bonney Lake location, known as The Market, is run like a grocery store. Sumner has created an order-based take out during the pandemic, Rader said.
Crnich said they serve the same area, so it makes sense to work together. Bonney Lake will deliver food across unincorporated Pierce County, Buckley Carbonado, Wilkeson, Greenwater and Sumner.
The joint board of directors has yet to be determined, Rader said. Members from both nonprofits will be included.
The Sumner Food Bank wants to add a resource center for needs beyond hunger, Rader said.
“We want to do what we can do to get them not to face hunger on a continual level,” he said.
