MILL CREEK, Wash. — A food bank in Mill Creek ran out of donations and hundreds of families were turned away, until a call to action from the community not only filled the shelves, but also stomachs and hearts.
“We had cars that lined up all the way down Seattle Hill Road, 35th for blocks,” said Jennifer Boyington, director at the Hope Creek Charitable Foundation, the organization that runs the Mill Creek Community Food Bank.
Over 200 cars were turned away this week after the food bank ran out of donations.
“That is the hardest part of my job,” said Boyington. She said it's been a challenge providing for those in need in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our numbers grew about 115% after COVID hit and they haven’t gone back down,” Boyington said. “There’s no way to describe just the fear that everyone is living in right now and yeah, it’s just heart breaking.”
A post on the Mill Creek Community Food Bank Facebook page about the need for donations drew hundreds of people with food that filled the food bank's shelves, as well as monetary donations.
“At this point I’m like, ‘where am I going to put all this food till we give it out,’ which is a great problem to have,” said Boyington.
Those 200 families that were turned away are now able to get the food they need.
“We’re still here to support each other and that’s a great thing to see this time of year when there’s just so much negativity and fear it’s so important just to see people come together and support each other,” she said.