All Posts in "Month: October 2020"

Mobile market gets around with free food

Eggs and fresh produce, all free, are handed out through the Fresh Express Mobile Market at three Pierce County locations. The program is scheduled to end for 2020 on Oct. 30.

The Tacoma Farmers Market spent this summer giving free food to people who need it, and not just in Tacoma.

With the financial support of nearly a quarter-million dollars from the federal government, the Fresh Express Mobile Market visited three locations each week—Fridays at the Asia Pacific Cultural Center on South Tacoma Way and the Bay Terrace Apartments in Tacoma’s Hilltop area, and Thursdays at the fire station in Ashford about halfway between Eatonville and Mount Rainier National Park. At each location, fruit, vegetables and protein items such as eggs were handed out. The contents of each bag were valued at about $26.

Market officials said the Fresh Express serves low-income community members, including older adults, with fresh, healthy food from farms in Pierce County. Proof of income isn’t required. Anyone in need can just show up and take a bag home.

It’s free because of $200,000 in federal aid distributed to the market through Pierce County. The funding is part of $3.8 million the county received via the CARES Act passed by Congress for emergency needs brought on by the pandemic.

The Fresh Express is scheduled to end Oct. 30, but market officials hope to continue it next year. More information is available at tacomafarmersmarket.com and 253-272-7077.

 

More food help

In Pierce, Kitsap and King counties, food banks and home-delivered meal services are helping older adults and all other community members who need food assistance. Here’s a list of such services. The same information is also in the Where to Turn community resource guides—a separate one for each county—that are published in print copies by Senior Media Services and online at seniorscene.org.

PIERCE COUNTY

Food banks

Allen Food Pantry, 253-627-6855

BASH, 253-531-9600

Bread of Life at Bonney Lake, 360-897-9005

Bread of Life at Lake City, 253-582-2515

Buckley (Kiwanis), 253-266-7309

Community Christian Assembly, 253-537-4010

Eatonville Family Agency, 360-832-6805

Eatonville Living Word Assembly of God, 360-832-4220

Eloise Cooking Pot, 253-426-1994

Emmanuel Food Pantry, 253-863-3655

Nourish Pierce County Food Banks, 253-383-3164

  • Browns Point …………….. 253-826-4654
  • Edgewood, 253-826-4654
  • Graham-South Hill. 253-846-3805
  • Lakes, 253-581-1116
  • NW Tacoma, 253-756-4974
  • SE Tacoma, 253-531-4530

Food Connections, 253-383-5048

Gig Harbor Peninsula, 253-858-6179

Lakewood/Prince of Peace, 253-584-2565

Orting, 360-893-3150

Parkland First Baptist, 253-535-1293

Puyallup, 253-848-5240

Roy-McKenna, 253-843-3033

Salvation Army

  • Puyallup, 253-841-1491
  • Tacoma ………………. 253-572-8452

Samoan Family Support, 253-535-9616

Steilacoom, 253-581-1076

SE Asian diets, 253-472-7264

Sumner, 253-863-3793

Tacoma/Bounty, 253-475-7098

Tacoma Adventist Community Services/special diets, 253-272-8289

Trinity Lutheran, 253-537-0201

United Lutheran, 253-475-3175

University Place, 253-460-3134

Yelm, 360-458-4003

Food stamp program

State Department of Social and Health Services, 877-501-2233

Holy Family of Jesus (Cambodian Church), 253-471-9838

Korean Women’s Association, 253-535-4202

Pierce County Aging and Disability Resources, 253-798-4600

South Sound Outreach Services, 253-593-2111

Eatonville Family Agency, 360-832-6805

Home-delivered meals

All Saints Catholic Church (Puyallup), 253-848-2000

Lutheran Community Services Northwest, 253-272-8433

Catholic Community Services, 253-474-1300

 

KING COUNTY

Home-delivered meals

Catholic Community ServicES, 253-474-1300

Sound Generations, 206-448-5767

Food banks

Auburn Food Bank, 253-833-8925

Black Diamond Food Bank, 360-886-1011

Des Moines Food Bank, 206-878-2660

Emergency Feeding Program of Seattle-King County 206-329-0300

Enumclaw Kiwanis Food Bank, 360-825-6188

Federal Way Food Bank, 253-838-6810

Highline Food Bank, 206-433-9900

Hopelink Bellevue, 425-889-7880

Issaquah Food Bank, 425-392-4123

Kent Food Bank, 253-981-3145

Maple Valley Food Bank, 425-432-8139

Muckleshoot Food Bank, 253-876-3336

Salvation Army-Renton, 425-255-5969

Tukwila Pantry, 206-431-8293

Vashon-Maury Food Bank, 206-463-6332

Meal sites

Auburn Senior Center, 253-931-3016

Black Diamond Community Center, 360-886-2418

Des Moines Community Center, 206-870-6584

Enumclaw Senior Center, 360-825-4741

Federal Way Community Center, 253-835-6900

Issaquah Senior Center, 425-392-2381

North Bellevue Community Center, 425-452-7681

Renton Senior Activity Center, 425-430-6633

Peter Kirk Community Center (Kirkland), 425-587-3360

SeaTac Park Community Center, 206-973-4680

South Park Community Center, 206-684-7451

Redmond Senior Center, 425-556-2314

KITSAP COUNTY

Bainbridge Island Helpline House  206-842-7621

Bremerton Food Line  Phone: 360-479-6188

Central Kitsap Food Bank  360-692-9818

DSHS Home and Community Services  360-842-2112

Kingston Food Bank  360-297-4861

Meals on Wheels Kitsap  360-377-8511

North Kitsap Fishline  360-779-5190

Salvation Army  360-373-5550

South Kitsap Helpline  360-876-4089

St. Vincent de Paul  360-377-2929

 

 

srmedia by — October 8, 2020 in Food, People
COMMENTARY: Candidates must heed priorities of 50-plus voters

As voters prepare to cast their ballots in the November election, AARP is committed to helping older Americans exercise their right to vote safely while holding candidates accountable on key issues.

In August, AARP launched Protect Voters 50+, which demands action from politicians to ensure that 50-plus-year-olds – from working parents to family caregivers to seniors in nursing homes – can vote safely. AARP is urging candidates to talk about the issues that matter to 50-plus voters, like strengthening Social Security and Medicare and protecting the economic health of older adults.

Washington is home to more than 1.3 million Social Security beneficiaries – 18 percent of which rely on those funds for 90 percent or more of their income. As you consider a candidate, here are AARP’s priorities for the Social Security program:

  • Achieving long-term security and solvency. Social Security should be protected not only for current retirees but for future generations of Americans.
  • Ensuring protections for those most in need. Any reforms should guarantee adequate benefits for those most reliant on Social Security and those who would have trouble postponing retirement
  • Recognizing the value of Social Security’s core elements. Social Security provides benefits that Americans earn through their working lives, and the program should be financed to ensure long-term adequacy and solvency.

 

Protect and strengthen Medicare

Medicare provides affordable healthcare for 1.2 million Washingtonians. Hard-working Americans pay into the program their entire working lives and are guaranteed benefits that help make healthcare accessible and affordable. Lowering costs and improving the efficiency and value of healthcare spending is especially crucial for Medicare, as the number of nationwide enrollees is expected to grow to 80 million by 2030. As you consider a candidate, keep in mind some of AARP’s priorities for the Medicare program:

  • Maintain affordable benefits that meet the needs of Medicare enrollees. This includes allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs, ensuring affordable premiums and cost-sharing, as well as exploring ways to expand coverage to important services like dental care and hearing aids.
  • Ensure all people with Medicare have access to a choice of high-quality healthcare providers sufficient to meet their needs.
  • Sustain Medicare for the future by reducing waste, fraud, and abuse, and making sure that its resources are spent wisely.

 

Secure the economic health of Americans 50-plus

In 2019, workers over 50 made up 31 percent of Washington’s workforce. Sadly, the unemployment rate for older workers this year reached the highest on record since the federal government began tracking it in 1948. The COVID-19 pandemic is making it even more difficult for Americans 50-plus to keep and find jobs. That’s why AARP is demanding action from our elected officials to protect the health and financial security of voters 50-plus. AARP would like candidates to address the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic:

  • Congress should extend emergency unemployment benefits, including additional categories of eligibility and additional benefit amounts, until the pandemic and its economic effects end.
  • State and federal lawmakers should provide additional support, including tax credits, to caregivers – 828,000 here in Washington, many of whom are spending more time caring for family members because of the pandemic.
  • Ensure that employers don’t discriminate against older workers in hiring them back after the pandemic.

For more than 60 years, AARP has been the champion of the 50-plus. Join us in calling on every candidate to Protect Voters 50+ – visit aarp.org/election2020 today! But don’t stop there; share the website with your friends and family to get them involved as well and help us spread the word even further.  Together, we can make the voice of the 50+ voter heard!

 

Cathy MacCaul, who wrote this article, is AARP Washington’s advocacy director.

srmedia by — October 8, 2020 in News