June 22, 2021—SEATTLE
Food Lifeline will join Military Family Advisory Network and Nourish Pierce County for a free drive-up food distribution at Clover Park High School on Saturday, June 25, from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. More than 500 families will be served at this event.
Military food insecurity is a growing problem across the country. A recent survey of military families reported that one in five respondents said they were experiencing food insecurity in 2021.
This distribution is funded in part by a $62,000 grant from Raytheon Technologies. Raytheon Technologies is investing $3 million nationwide in Equitable Food Access grants. This grant enables Food Lifeline to provide food for distribution, as well as funding initiatives to start or expand local programs to identify and act on racial and geographical barriers to food access, as well as enable members to build relationships with congressional offices to champion causes that benefit service members.
“Strong and healthy communities start with food security,” said Pam Erickson, Raytheon Technologies’ chief communications officer and head of corporate social responsibility. “We are committed to making progress in the fight against hunger by alleviating the everyday struggles of too many people trying to access nutritious food for their families.”
In 2021, Food Lifeline launched Washington Military Family Hunger Coalition to unite people and organizations across Washington in support of veterans and our more than 160,000 service members, reservist, and their families that live in and around the state’s six active-duty military bases. This first-of-its-kind coalition is joined by organizations like The Mission Continues (Seattle Platoon), Nourish Pierce County, Thurston County Food Bank, Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank, Second Harvest, Feeding America, Feeding Washington, and the Washington Food Coalition. More info here.”
Who:
• All active-duty service members, National Guard/Reserve, and veteran families are welcome.
• Families wishing to participate in this distribution need to register at militarymeals.org
• Families will receive fresh produce, dairy items, proteins, and shelf-stable pantry items.
Location: Clover Park High School – 11023 Gravelly Lake drive N.W, Lakewood, WA 98499
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Media:
Media is welcome throughout the day, and staff and volunteers will be available for interviews. Please contact Mark Coleman at #206-850-3752 or markc@fll.org
*** If you would like to cover this event but don’t have staff available, 4k video will be available via Dropbox.
About Food Lifeline
Food Lifeline works to fill the immediate needs of people facing hunger and reduce food insecurity and hunger by creating long-term solutions that are focused on its root causes.
We provide nutritious food to hundreds of thousands of people facing hunger in Western Washington every year. We do this by sourcing millions of pounds of donated food, including fresh produce, from farmers, manufacturers, wholesalers and distribution centers, grocers, restaurants, and retail locations.
Volunteers inspect, sort, and repack food in Food Lifeline’s 130,000-square-foot Hunger Solution Center in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood. We distribute this food through our own distribution programs and in partnership with 300 food banks, shelters, and meal programs that serve people throughout Western Washington. This highly efficient system allows us to ensure the equivalent of 134,000 meals every day reach people who don’t have enough to eat.
About Raytheon Technologies
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military, and government customers worldwide. With four industry-leading businesses ― Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense ― the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics, and quantum physics. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
