By serving each other, we serve our community.
Come volunteer at our Food Bank, and right away, you’ll see a difference: our clients get to choose their food. Yes, it means more work for us, but it preserves their dignity and offers a sense of individual worth. What’s more, it ensures that little food is wasted. It’s the same in the Clothing Bank: clients can shop once weekly for what they know they need. Can you think of a smarter way to recycle? The mission of the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank is to provide free food, clothing and related services to individuals and families who need basic necessities in order to remain self-sufficient.
The food we offer is supplementary: 8-10 meals’ worth, once a week. We provide basic canned and packaged food items, bread and produce, together with toiletries and essentials such as diapers and pet food, and will deliver these when clients are housebound.
Instead, do something amazing.
For instance? Donate monthly. Or some of your stocks. Organize a massive East-side food drive. Get the word out, think big and bold and dynamic, and take action. If all you have time for is the gift of money, we’ll take it here.
And if enough people do something, our neighbors won’t go to bed hungry.
Perishables from grocery outlets. We’re doing our best to keep useful food from being wasted – and people from going hungry. But even when the food is free, it costs energy, fuel, hours to collect, prepare and distribute it, often to shut-ins. Even your smallest gift makes a big difference.
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When someone loses a job or a home, fear can ensue. When a mother or father can’t keep their kids warm, it feels like the end of the world.
So please, bring us those baby clothes your kids are too big for. The adult clothes that are just taking up room in your closets, or tucked away in boxes in your garage, attic or storeroom. We also need sheets and blankets, lamps, toasters and other small appliances and the things that help folks get through a crisis.
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Most people in crisis don’t know where to turn, so they often turn to a food bank first. But going hungry is usually the short-term symptom of something bigger, such as losing a job, domestic abuse, dependency, medical concerns or other issues.
Part of our job is to refer our clients to a network of agencies and organizations. We make thousands of referrals a year – from food stamps to school lunches, educational opportunities to shelters – to help our clients reach the long-term solutions they need.
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It can happen to anyone.
A temporary crisis can throw a family into a tailspin. Whether impacted by a lost job, an episode of domestic violence, an accident or a sudden illness, it can be impossible to get back on your feet without a little extra support.
We can provide short-term help, often as utility or rent assistance.
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Extra-special efforts for special times of the year.
School Backpacks. We try to send some 900 local kids to school each year with a new backpack and some essential supplies. The program has been so successful that other agencies have borrowed the idea.
Christmas Baskets. We work to find a sponsor to adopt each of our families in need, providing gifts and a Christmas dinner. In addition, placing local “giving trees” throughout town give us a way to provide gifts for children and seniors who aren’t adopted.
Birthday Toy Bank. For a parent, the only thing harder than having nothing to feed a child is having nothing for a child’s birthday, so we always try to keep some toys in reserve.
How can you help?
Could your office sponsor a Christmas Basket family? Can your family provide a few Birthday Toy Bank toys? Can you volunteer some time to help prepare backpacks? There’s no end of opportunities. Please call or click here.
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The food we offer is supplementary: 8-10 meals’ worth, once a week. We provide basic canned and packaged food items, bread and produce, together with toiletries and essentials such as diapers and pet food, and will deliver these when clients are housebound.
Food
There are families in Issaquah that struggle to put food on their tables. We serve Redmond, Renton, and the 9 other cities. This isn’t a crisis like you’ve ever seen. So please respond.Instead, do something amazing.
For instance? Donate monthly. Or some of your stocks. Organize a massive East-side food drive. Get the word out, think big and bold and dynamic, and take action. If all you have time for is the gift of money, we’ll take it here.
And if enough people do something, our neighbors won’t go to bed hungry.
Perishables from grocery outlets. We’re doing our best to keep useful food from being wasted – and people from going hungry. But even when the food is free, it costs energy, fuel, hours to collect, prepare and distribute it, often to shut-ins. Even your smallest gift makes a big difference.
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Clothing and More
We need the stuff you’ll never use. Clothes. Shoes. Bedding.When someone loses a job or a home, fear can ensue. When a mother or father can’t keep their kids warm, it feels like the end of the world.
So please, bring us those baby clothes your kids are too big for. The adult clothes that are just taking up room in your closets, or tucked away in boxes in your garage, attic or storeroom. We also need sheets and blankets, lamps, toasters and other small appliances and the things that help folks get through a crisis.
Top
Referrals
Food and clothing are just part of the picture.Most people in crisis don’t know where to turn, so they often turn to a food bank first. But going hungry is usually the short-term symptom of something bigger, such as losing a job, domestic abuse, dependency, medical concerns or other issues.
Part of our job is to refer our clients to a network of agencies and organizations. We make thousands of referrals a year – from food stamps to school lunches, educational opportunities to shelters – to help our clients reach the long-term solutions they need.
- Legal Services
- Medical and Counseling Services
- Refugee Assistance
- Senior Services
- Transportation
- Utility Assistance
- Other Food Services
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Emergencies
Planning for the UnplannableIt can happen to anyone.
A temporary crisis can throw a family into a tailspin. Whether impacted by a lost job, an episode of domestic violence, an accident or a sudden illness, it can be impossible to get back on your feet without a little extra support.
We can provide short-term help, often as utility or rent assistance.
Top
Special Programs
Feeding Hope and HeartsExtra-special efforts for special times of the year.
School Backpacks. We try to send some 900 local kids to school each year with a new backpack and some essential supplies. The program has been so successful that other agencies have borrowed the idea.
Christmas Baskets. We work to find a sponsor to adopt each of our families in need, providing gifts and a Christmas dinner. In addition, placing local “giving trees” throughout town give us a way to provide gifts for children and seniors who aren’t adopted.
Birthday Toy Bank. For a parent, the only thing harder than having nothing to feed a child is having nothing for a child’s birthday, so we always try to keep some toys in reserve.
How can you help?
Could your office sponsor a Christmas Basket family? Can your family provide a few Birthday Toy Bank toys? Can you volunteer some time to help prepare backpacks? There’s no end of opportunities. Please call or click here.
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