The PNW Rotary Food Project was started by a small group of Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Ferndale and the Rotary Club of Pacific Northwest Passport who wanted make it easy for people to donate food to local food banks. They realized that many of their neighbors wanted to help fight hunger in their community, but for one reason or another, never get around to it. So they adopted a simple, door-to-door food collection system to enable people to pitch in.
They had three goals:
- To provide a regular supply of food to hungry neighbors
- To create new neighborhood connections and strengthen the community
- To serve as a model for other communities
Rotary Food Project volunteers invited their friends and neighbors to participate. Whenever people signed up to become Donors, the volunteers suggested that they buy just one extra nonperishable food item each week, and store it at home in a Green Bag that we provided. The volunteers promised to stop by the donors’ homes every two months, pick the Green Bags, leave an empty one behind, and take the Green Bag with donated food directly to the Ferndale Food Bank.
The PNW Rotary Food Project’s first collection will be October 10th, 2020. Five Neighborhood Coordinators will pick up green bags from nearly 50 families in the Ferndale Food Bank Service Area.
We are just getting started and there’s still plenty of need in our area, and plenty of room for the Rotary Food Project to grow. So join us! Don’t wait for a neighbor to knock on your door. Get in touch and let us know you want to share food. Sign up as a Donor and we’ll bring you a green bag, and get you started right away! Or become a Neighborhood Coordinator and work with a small group of volunteers.
