NAM's Call for Help on Social Media Answered by Community Congregation
On Friday, February 15, 2019, Northwest Assistance Ministries (NAM) took to social media to ask for donations of meat to fill the empty freezer in its Joanne Watford Nutrition Center (JWNC). The freezer in the JWMC – a choice food pantry – had become bare that morning and the call to action was immediate.
“As soon as we found out the JWNC ran out of meat we needed to react quickly,“ said Brian Carr, NAM’s Chief Advancement Officer. “We knew the fastest way to get the word out would be on social media,” he explained. “We posted on NAM’s Facebook page asking the community for meat donations and one of our wonderful congregations responded.”
Houston Bishop’s Storehouse of The Church for Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints answered the call for help and delivered 1,600 pounds of various meats of beef, chicken, pork, and turkey to the JWNC on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks to their generosity, the freezer in NAM’s food pantry is no longer empty and clients can take home fresh meat to feed their families. Houston Bishop’s Storehouse of The Church for Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a true representation of NAM’s mission of Neighbors Helping Neighbors.
“We are so grateful to them,” said Debbie Peterson, NAM’s Director of Assistance. “NAM does its best to offer a variety of healthy food options for our clients to choose from,” she continued. “And this donation will help a lot of families and seniors from going hungry.”
The Joanne Watford Nutrition Center is a choice food pantry that operates like a grocery store. Clients choose their own food from designated categories, including fresh produce, meat, dairy and frozen items. During fiscal year 2017-2018, the JWNC provided food for 10,615 individuals. As part of the Senior Food Program, 125 low income seniors received monthly supplemental groceries. In 2017 almost 900 families received Thanksgiving meals and food for a week and in December almost 1000 families received the same for the holidays.