“Business” is booming at the Ocean Park Food Bank.
And some change is in the air.
The number of needy families has mushroomed. So leaders are developing a plan to expand their digs.
But the food bank has outgrown its 1,250 square foot homebase, which leaders describe as “very cramped.”
‘We are now serving more people than we have ever served before.’
Michael Goldberg, Ocean Park Food Bank president
So they are working with the building’s owner on a plan to buy it over time. An important element would involve the owner removing the adjoining building, a derelict restaurant. “Tearing down that building will be a community improvement,” Goldberg said. “This would be ‘beautifying’ the community.”
Clearing the deteriorated structure from the adjoining site would enable the food bank to build an addition, increasing space to about 2,000 square feet. This would allow better storage and an office. Goldberg said they need room for their food inventory, seven freezers, two refrigerators and a walk-in cooler.
Wary of interest rates for conventional loans, food bank leaders are drawing up a plan to blend funds from their savings with grants for a sizable down payment, if possible.
The Ocean Park group has operated as a nonprofit, relying on the generosity of private, non-government donors. In recent months, however, leaders have approached Pacific County commissioners and the Pacific County Economic Development Council signaling their need for help. Goldberg said he is awaiting a $50,000 boost from the county through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and is in talks with the EDC about options for other help.
He also has applied for up to $125,000 from the Washington State Department of Agriculture, which coordinates statewide food bank activities. “We hope, if we get some of that, it would really help,” he said.
Private donations — a key to the entire operation — continue to be crucial, he said.
“We are reaching out to the community to see if there are people interested in supporting us in purchasing this building,” Goldberg said.
The food bank operates Tuesdays through Fridays, serving a stream of at least 1,500 clients each month who rely on donated supplies to augment their families’ pantries. It has been at its present site since 2009, with Goldberg at the helm and Charlotte Paliani serving as treasurer.
Both find the work rewarding. “People are very thankful and it makes me feel good,” said Paliani, after helping volunteer Leah Gonder pack up Friday. “I think I get more out of it than they do.”
Covid restrictions, which began in March 2020, reduced demand, but many government emergency programs have sunsetted. The food bank operates with a fiscal year from July to June. In the 2022 fiscal year, it served 9,931 people. In the 2023 fiscal year, which just ended, that number had mushroomed to 15,432.
“We are now serving more people than we have ever served before,” Goldberg said.
Two other food banks operate in south Pacific County. One is housed at the rear of the Chinook School building and the other is run in Ilwaco by the St. Vincent de Paul organization. Rachel Gana, the long-time Ilwaco food bank leader, said the Catholic group benefits greatly from its generous landlord.
The Ocean Park Food Bank at 1601 Bay Ave., is open Tuesday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Mail donations to P.O. Box 907, Ocean Park, WA 98640
The Ilwaco Food Bank at 303 First Ave. S is open on Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mail donations to P.O. Box 494, Ilwaco, WA 98624.
The Chinook Food Bank is open on the first and third Thursday of each month from 1 to 3 p.m., at the Chinook School at 810 State Route 101. Mail donations to P.O. Box 243, Chinook, WA 98614.
All three are boosted annually by the Loren H. Corder Foundation, a philanthropic fund set up by a retired Vancouver auto dealer. Since 2019, its treasurer, Chuck Mikkola, has matched community donations during a fundraising appeal each December. Peninsula Rotary Club also supports the program with donations. Last year, the total shared among the three food banks reached $140,000.
As they draw plans for an expanded building, Ocean Park leaders, however, are mindful that many people donating during this period expect the money to directly benefit needy neighbors.
The food bank purchases food from Northwest Harvest in Seattle and Coastal Harvest in Hoquiam. It receives commodities from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as local donations of food and money.
In fiscal year 2022, it spent $38,262 on food; in 2023, that tally was $102,938.
About 35 volunteers staff the shifts, in groups of up to four each day between 10 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.
On the second Saturday of each month, volunteers drive five routes through the peninsula, picking up donated food from about 75 households in its “Green Bag” program. Goldberg is hoping more will contact him to take part; the program once had 150 supporters.
He is seeking to better publicize a USDA initiative called Commodity Surplus Food Program, which provides extra food but requires a declaration from recipients about their incomes.
Goldberg, a retired social worker, is optimistic. He moved to Ocean Park from Edmonds in 2006, offered his volunteer help, and it wasn’t long before he was busy.
He lights up when asked to describe the reward. “It is very important to me to try to make a difference with other people,” Goldberg said. “It makes me feel my life is worthwhile, if I can do something for someone else.”
• Anyone with questions, or who desires to help, is asked to call Michael Goldberg at 360-244-3969.
