Union Gospel Mission’s produce distribution program feeds hungry Thurston County kids

Every other Friday, hundreds of children in Thurston County pick up a free sack of fresh produce that otherwise would have ended up in the trash.

The Union Gospel Mission in Olympia sets up these impromptu farm stands in 10 low-income neighborhoods throughout the area where the children can grab the food after stepping off the school bus.

The food is gone in minutes, as was the case Friday at Rainier Vista Mobile Home Park in Lacey. Nearly 20 children along with a couple of adults filled their bags with bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, blackberries and even loaves of bread.

The fruits and veggies are donated by local grocery stores including Fred Meyer, Safeway and Ralph’s Thriftway as well as food banks God’s Portion in Yelm and Saint’s Pantry in Shelton.

The quality of the produce is as good as anything you would find in a supermarket.

“It’s not anything I wouldn’t feed myself or my kids,” said Mindy Owens, community outreach coordinator for Union Gospel Mission.

The mission launched its “VegOut” program about a year ago and now serves an estimated 400 children every other Friday. Sites are selected based on the amount of Section 8 housing in a particular area, including mobile home parks or apartment complexes. Other beneficiaries include senior citizens in low-income apartments.

So far in 2016, the program has served more than 2,000 pounds of produce. During the summer, the program doles out produce each Friday.

Many of the households have working parents who struggle to make ends meet and lack access to nonprocessed food, Owens said.

“We have so many families out there who could use the help,” Owens said before carrying one girl’s heavy bag of groceries home. “They always take what they need.”

The program depends on volunteers from local churches to collect and transport the produce. Volunteers from Capital Christian Center in Olympia helped with Friday afternoon’s distribution at Rainier Vista Mobile Home Park. Some of the volunteers started sorting through the food early that morning.

“You have to sort through it to get to the good stuff,” said Cathy Kapan, who estimates that about 90 percent of food donations are worthy of handing out. She also notes that leftovers go to local farmers to feed animals: “Nothing is wasted.”

This story was originally published May 29, 2016 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Union Gospel Mission’s produce distribution program feeds hungry Thurston County kids."