Can you help? Volunteers needed at Western's WHOLE food pantry this summer

Since last summer, the Western Hub of Living Essentials (WHOLE) pantry has expanded to include pick-ups of donations from Trader Joe’s and Avenue Bread as well as purchases through the Bellingham Food Bank. This is in addition to pick-ups and deliveries of purchases made through local grocers and Amazon to fill in need gaps. During the school year, this is manageable with lots of help by our AmeriCorps staff, student staff, and volunteers. However, during summer, most of the staff is away and help is needed. It takes a village to run this pantry!

What is needed is help in unloading pick-ups and deliveries on Mondays and Tuesdays, as well as regularly stocking the pantry, ideally 1-2 times a day on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. A Sign-Up Genius form has been created for WWU staff and faculty to sign up for these shifts throughout the summer. Because schedules can be all over the place with vacations and such, these are not regular shifts but week by week.

If you are interested and available, sign up for shifts here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084BA4A62FA4FBC70-49857188-summer

Or if you’d like to support the pantry in a different way, you can always donate funds through the Viking Funder website or through a paycheck deduction. Donated funds are used to purchase food and hygiene items to put into the pantry. About $12,000 is spent each quarter and is completely reliant on the generous donations of the community. You can also drop off unopened food and hygiene items in the bin on the 6^th floor of the Viking Union next to the Info Desk.

Thank you for supporting the pantry and the WWU community!