About Us
Food Bank History
February 14, 2022, marks our 20th anniversary. Gifts from the Heart Food Bank opened on Valentine's Day, 2002. The food bank was started by a small group of people who felt there was a need for a food bank serving Central Whidbey Island. We originally started operating from a small space provide to us at Greenbank Farm. After three years of operation, we knew there was a need and, also, that our community and businesses would continuously support a food bank. In November 2005, we moved into the old fire hall at 203 North Main. This is our current location where we continue to store, prepare and distribute food to our clients.
Client Demographics
In 2021, 27% of the clients we served were infants through school-age children: that's a lot of hungry kids going to school every day. Our largest client group are age 19 to 54. Many of these clients are working but don't make a living wage and need the little extra help the food bank provides. Meanwhile, nearly 32% of our clients are age 55 or older.
Where Does Our Food Come From?
- Community Donations
- Food Drives
- Food Lifeline
- Northwest Harvest
- Food Bought Through Cash Donations
Volunteers
We are a completely volunteer-run food bank; we have no paid employees. We have a Board of Directors and 40 volunteers doing various jobs. Some of these jobs include putting away food collected from food drives, bagging food for our clients, distributing food, picking up weekly donations, driving to NW Harvest, and volunteering for special events. Working at the food bank does not require a large time commitment, but it is very fulfilling work.
To become a volunteer, please call 360-672-5502.
2021 Accomplishments
- We gave food to 1,867 households.
- These households were made up of 4,225 individuals.
- Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland donated $8,000.
- Coupeville United Methodist Church donated $4,416.
- Nearly 200 individuals, groups, churches and organizations generously donated food and funds in 2021, all of which helps provide food to those in need.
Thank you for your support!
Green Philosophy
Gifts from the Heart tries to be green in all our dealings. The environment is importatnt to us, especially on this beautiful island. Actions that all our volunteers adhere to include:
- Reuse all materials whenever possible
- Recycle everything that we cannot reuse ourselves.
- Distribute food to our clients in reusable red bags that are returned to us.
