Leaders at the East County Family Resource Center in Washougal say they are seeking community donations to supplement a rapidly dwindling food supply.
The Resource Center operates an on-site food pantry and provides food for the Washougal School District’s weekly backpack program. Donations from the Camas and Washougal school districts’ annual Stuff The Bus community food drive help stock the Resource Center’s pantry, but most of those donations won’t roll in until later this fall.
Until then, the center is “begging” the community for donations, according to Adrienne Mason, the Southwest Washington regional director for Akin, the Resource Center’s main tenant.
“If I can say this with optimism, I think it’s a good problem to have — we’re running out of food because we’re helping so many people,” said Reuben Cottingham, Akin’s manager for the Resource Center. “We’re just hoping that we continue to have the resources to serve the community in the way that they need to be served.”
Resource Center volunteers prepare 130 backpacks per week for the backpack program, according to Mason, filled with peanut butter, crackers, oatmeal packets, fruit cups, soup cups, Ramen, Spaghetti O’s, chili, chicken noodle soup, macaroni and cheese, and/or Goldfish packets, among other items.