Heritage, other banks help fight hunger in community

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• Bellingham Food Bank fights hunger throughout the year

  Bellingham Food Bank fights hunger throughout the year

  I want to tell you about John. He is a regular at Bellingham Food Bank. John's been visiting the food bank for years. Some days he is in a lot of pain and doesn't say much. Other days he greets me with a sly smile and clever comment about the food he's going to pick up that day. John visits every week.

  John is so much more than a food bank client. He is a husband who is caring for his disabled wife. He is a Vietnam veteran. He is a grandfather who is unexpectedly raising some of his grandchildren. He is a heart attack survivor who worked good jobs for decades until his disability took over. John never thought he would need a food bank. He had always worked. He served his country. He happily supported his family through other tough times. Now, he doesn't know what he would do without the food bank's support. He also can't imagine a time when he won't need the food bank's support to feed himself and his family.

  John's family is one of hundreds of families who visit our food bank every week for one of

• CROP Walk fights hunger and builds faith

  CROP Walk fights hunger and builds faith

  Since childhood I have participated in activities addressing human needs, such as CROP Walk and other volunteer causes. My parents gave time and money to assist neighbors in need and other community and worldwide causes, and I participated with them when possible. The resolution of local and world hunger issues depends on the individual efforts of many. Volunteering is not just an expression of my faith because the blessings I receive doing it strengthens and grows my faith.

• Fight against hunger with your own backyard garden

  Fight against hunger with your own backyard garden

  When the Olympia City Council updated an ordinance allowing residents to engage in more backyard farming, the capital city joined other Thurston County jurisdictions in a growing trend. More people — urban and rural — are growing or raising some of their own food.

• Saturday's postal food drive fills crucial need

  Saturday's postal food drive fills crucial need

  Leave it to the union that represents United States Postal Service letter carriers to name their annual mega-food drive set for Saturday “Stamp Out Hunger.”

• Food bank happy to add your extra zucchini to fresh offerings

  Food bank happy to add your extra zucchini to fresh offerings

  I coordinate agricultural programs at Bellingham Food Bank, and it's my privilege to ask you for your extra zucchini. Why? Because I know two things that maybe you don't; the first is that if you're a gardener, you'll have it; the second is that the food bank could use it.

  We gladly accept donations Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. No quantities are too large or small.

  I know you're not currently burdened with this perennial good fortune of home gardening, but perhaps the week-and-a-half of gorgeous weather we had in March convinced you as it did me that gardening season would eventually arrive and that you'd be able to put your winter's worth of seed ordering, tool shed organizing and veggie plot planning into action. Well, that time has arrived.