EvCC President Dr. Daria Willis was proud to announce that the college has partnered up with the Volunteers of America Western Washington (VOA) to become a drive-through food bank distribution site in parking lot J of EvCC’s main campus.

With Snohomish County already suffering from the economic effects of COVID-19, including the highest unemployment rate in the state at over 20 percent, families all over the county are struggling to get by. 

Thankfully, EvCC and the VOA are stepping in to help in any way they can, “Everett Community College will be serving as a distribution location for the Volunteers of America Everett Food Bank for the next three months,” said Willis in the announcement. 

Beginning today, families who live in Snohomish County will be able to pick up food on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in parking lot J near the Early Learning Center on campus, no appointment necessary.  

Today, EvCC and the VOA were able to serve over 254 different families. “Families were from all over Snohomish County: Lynnwood, Mill Creek, Marysville, Lake Stevens, Mountlake Terrace, and many from Everett. I estimate that between 50% – 70% of families spoke Russian or Ukranian as a first language,” said VOA Director of Marketing and Communications, Cory Armstrong-Hoss.

The new EvCC Drive-Through Food Pantry is one of four new sites that VOA has opened in response to surging food insecurity around Snohomish County. As the need grows, VOA and its partners are responding with a county-wide effort, opening new Food Pantry sites in Arlington, Sultan, Lynnwood, and Everett, in addition to its regular Everett Food Bank and Sultan Food Bank operations, explained Hoss. 

The VOA does not require identification or documentation to pick up food. “There is no criteria, no documentation necessary because we understand that there is a whole in a section of the population that are undocumented and don’t qualify for unemployment benefits or the government stimulous,” said Hoss.  “We want to make sure there is no barrier so all families are able to get the food they need during this period of time.” However, VOA staff will ask about your home zip code in order to gather community needs data.

Hoss explained why they chose to partner with EvCC. “Everett Community College has a wonderful, vibrant community where people already feel comfortable going, and thousands of people are very familiar with your campus. Plus, it’s so close to Broadway.” 

Whether you take the bus or ride a bike, the food is still available to you. “For the people who walk up because they don’t have a car or they took the bus, we will find a way to get them the boxes they need in a way that is safe for everyone involved,” said Hoss.

Kristi Myers, Chief Development Officer for the VOA stood at a fold-up table with a box of PPE supplies to hand out to volunteers. “We have boxes of food, so families can just drive up or walk up and we give them the appropriate amount of boxes of shelf-stable food.” 

Willis is glad the college can play a role in helping families get the means they need. She explained how many families are facing economic challenges right now and no one should go hungry.

“There is not a lot of human interaction,” said Hoss. “You just talk to them through their car window and try to figure out if they are vegetarian or if they have dairy restrictions so we can then make the small changes needed and make sure we aren’t wasting food by giving families meat if they don’t eat meat.”

Two large semi-trucks carrying a total of 50 pallets worth of boxed food sat with their doors open so volunteers can easily load cars. 

One of the volunteers whose task was to load boxes of food into cars was 19-year-old Aubrey Smith. Wearing blue gloves, a floral mask and a neon green work vest, she greeted cars as they pulled up.  “I wanted to look for ways to help out the community because I know that in this time there is a high need for food distribution help, I have a very free schedule so I signed up to work a couple days,” said Smith. “Being able to see the smiles on people’s faces as they receive the food is so joyful. I also speak Russion, there are a lot of Russian and Ukranian people who come for food so being able to translate for them is really helpful.”

Hoss also touched on how much the VOA has had to adapt to how they operate during these past few months. “We have had to completely change the way we operate. Typically if you needed food, you’d come into our Everett food bank and you’d have a grocery cart or you’d have a bag or basket and you would actually choose items from each category that worked for you and your family. But we’ve had to adapt so much, so now we are moving to this.”

Luckily, the food bank has had financial support from groups such as the Community Foundation of Snohomish County, and Food Lifeline, whose goal is to feed people who are experiencing hunger today and, at the same time, solve the issue of hunger for tomorrow. “Food Lifeline, our biggest regional player as far as food distribution, have added us  as a major partner. So not only are we getting additional money to help fund operations for all these food sites expansion, we are actually getting thousands more pounds of food every week from Food Lifeline.”

Many of the families who have been showing up to other VOA locations have never had to go to a food bank before. “This is a new experience for them because they never thought they would need that kind of help. We are happy to do it in a way that is respectful to them and keeps them safe,” said Hoss. 

If you are fluent in Russian or Ukranian and would like to become a volunteer to help translate at the EvCC site please contact VOA’s Volunteer Coordinator, Lindsay Donovan at [email protected] 

Everett Community College is located at 2000 Tower, St, Everett WA 98201.

The VOA Everett food bank is located just two blocks south of EvCC’s main campus on the corner of 13th Street and Broadway. If you would like to donate to the food bank, you can make an online donation at voaww.org/donate 

EvCC also offers assistance to students and employees through its Food Pantry. To schedule an appointment with the Food Pantry, email [email protected]

Gallery • 4 Photos

Courtesy of Volunteers of America Western Washington