SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — A new community food bank and soup kitchen opened in Spokane Valley on Saturday, providing a lifeline for families facing food insecurity as the government shutdown enters its 25th day.
Nourish Spokane is run by the Filipino American Northwest Association. The program took two years to develop and aims to help families struggling with food insecurity.
“It’s Spokane Valley’s first cultural soup kitchen that’s not faith based,” said Jacqueline Babol, executive director of the Filipino American Northwest Association.
The timing is important. Starting next month, families could lose access to food benefits because of the government shutdown. This could affect hundreds of thousands of households across the Inland Northwest.
The food bank provides hot meals and food to take home. Donations have filled the shelves since the beginning of the week, the hope is for that giving spirit to continue.
Veronica Bropas helped create the program. She said they chose Saturday because “most of food banks are used only on weekdays, not on the weekend.” The soup kitchen will open every other Saturday.
“We have a lot of our community in here suffering because, you know, of what’s going on with our government. And one of the biggest one is the food,” Bropas said.
The grand opening brought together volunteers, people needing meals, and community members. Visitors found friendly faces, hot soup, and home-cooked meals.
For the Filipino community, food represents love and hospitality.
“Filipinos are very hospitable. We are used to eating a lot, cooking a lot more than we can eat. So it’s a pleasure to cook for people with our love,” Babol said.
Nourish Spokane will serve its Thanksgiving meal on November 15th and its Christmas meal on December 20th. After that, it hopes to serve meals every other Saturday.
You can learn more about the initiative here.
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