MITAGS-PMI West Coasters Aid in the Fight Against Hunger in Western Washington
Pictured, from left to right: Emily Hopkins, Mike Mielke, Justin Bell, Christine Klimkowski, Adam Goodrich, Pasha Amigud, Jenny Pitzen, Ted Quanstrom, Bill Anderson, and Amy Anderson.
The PMI team at MITAGS-PMI West Coast Campus has added a new tradition to their annual holiday food drive this year.
Jenny PItzen, PMI’s Registrar, contacted Food Lifeline and set up a unique opportunity for the group to help out on Friday, 21st December. The team of 10 arrived at the Shoreline, WA sorting warehouse. They took a moment to tour the facility with workers, and learned what Food Lifeline does throughout the state and how they rely on volunteers to make the whole program work. Each group typically gets a different task depending on what was donated that day or week.
In this case, the MITAGS-PMI volunteers donned hairnets and aprons, washed up, gloved up, and started repackaging both salt and bread mix. The salt came in 50lb bags, and for food shelters to use the salt it needs to be repackaged in a smaller, 5lb bag with appropriate labeling. At the end of the morning, several pallets of perfectly good food were ready for distribution that afternoon.
The team enjoyed helping their neighbors in Western Washington. After a quick clean-up, they personally dropped off the food donations. A team member noted, “The buzz was all about what we were able to do that day and how we would make this a regular part of our annual schedule.”
Food Lifeline is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending hunger in Western Washington. Food Lifeline makes every penny count and 94% of the food received is from local, state and national contributors. Food Lifeline provides a creative link between food sources and hungry people. They encourage the food industry to donate unmarketable but usable food that would otherwise be discarded. Local restaurants and caterers contribute prepared food through our award-winning Seattle's Table program, and fresh produce is collected from wholesalers and retailers through our Produce for the People program. Local grocery retailers also donate a variety of nutritious products like meat, dairy, fresh produce and baked goods through our Grocery Rescue program.