2015 spring good cheer newsletter

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Good Cheer Food Bank & Thrift Stores

Food Bank & Thrift Stores

Growing Community Leaders

Thrift Stores Keep It Freshand Friendly

‘I Am Good Cheer’CampaignKicks Off

Spring 2015 Vol. 12, No. 1

Good Cheer’s Gleeful Gleaners just passed a big milestone: five years of working with South Whidbey tree owners with extra ap-ples, pears, plums and peaches to share with local charities. More than 70 volunteers harvested trees

at 61 properties whose owners generously shared their bounty. Many have been involved from the beginning in 2010.We had a bountiful 2014

season in spite of the tent caterpillars, which took out some of our most produc-tive orchards and trees. Two-and-a-half tons of

mostly organic fruit that would have gone to waste went to people instead (Good Cheer Food Bank, the Senior Center, Whidbey Island Nourishes, other food programs, tree owners and gleaners) and more than a ton of buggy or ground fruit went to animals.We prioritize the best quality fruit (it’s

what the clients want) from trees that own-ers are unable to pick themselves, and arrange harvest times that are convenient for tree owners. Our teams include experienced pickers, plus we keep the locations of the trees confidential.Tree owners representing 9 new properties

joined in for our 2014 season, providing an abundance of apples, pears, plums and even peaches. But, as co-founder and long-time gleaner Nancy Hepp said, “The apples and plums and pears and peaches are good—very good—but the connections we’ve been mak-ing are food for the soul of the community.” Fruit donors Jim and Louisa Halfaker,

Growing community connections for greater harvests

▲... Gleeful Gleaner volunteer Kristy Knick-rehm sorts the quality of apples from last season’s harvest.

part-time Whidbey residents for decades, have shared their extra for years. “We have had our fruit trees gleaned for

at least four years. The teams that come are cheerful and capable, picking and sorting fruit, never harming our older orchard. They always pick what we need for our family,

and are most gracious to us. We always enjoy it when it is harvest time, and they come back,” Jim said.In addition to the delight-

ful camaraderie of a harvest, volunteers and tree owners exchange notes about fruit growing, share recipes and sometimes even try sam-ples. When we say “Have some fun while doing some good,” we mean it! Won’t you join in?

WISH LISTWe could use more volun-

teers, including folks with trucks for hauling ladders. We’re always on the lookout for good qual-

ity, unsprayed or organically managed fruit if you have extra. (We’re happy to leave up to one-quarter of the harvest with tree own-ers, and volunteers also get a share.)We’d love to find someone experienced

with fruit trees who would help train our scouts to recognize signs of ripeness in dif-ferent varieties, guide us in spotting disease or pest infestation, and assist in identifying varieties. Even if you don’t have time to volunteer,

maybe you could help by donating supplies to keep the harvesting going smoothly? We will put another orchard ladder (or two)

to good use, plus would welcome any picking

Gleeful Gleaners Celebrate 5 years!

bags. We need first aid kits for our harvest point people, plus contractor bags and some latex gloves. There are lots of ways to be part of this fruitful enterprise!

––A.T. Birmingham Young

“The apples and plums and pears and peaches are good—very good—but the connections we’ve been making are food for the soul of the community.” – Nancy Hepp

Creating a hunger-free community

▲...Volunteer gleaner Jenny Staats shows a prize apple picked from the high branches with the help of a pole.


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▲... Community Garden Leadership Apprentices Anh Bui, Halley Shriber, and Margaret Pickoff will be working in South Whidbey Gardens. Anh Bui will be working primarily in Good Cheer’s on-site garden.

Apprentice program cultivates community leadersEach year, apprentices from all over the

country come to Whidbey Island to learn practical growing skills in small-scale gar-dening as well as leadership skills to initiate and develop community garden programs. This year we welcome three new appren-

tices who will be working in our community gardens on South Whidbey.Margaret Pickoff from Morristown, NJ

will be working with Abigail Lazarowski in the Whidbey Institute’s Westgarden. Hal-ley Shriber, most recently from Portland, OR, will be working with Cary Peterson in the various South Whidbey School gar-dens. Anh Bui from Long Beach, CA will be working with Camille Green in the Good Cheer Garden. Although each apprentice is working mainly in one garden, they will also be working together in each other’s areas.The Community Garden Leadership Train-

ing program began five years ago and in-volves Good Cheer Food Bank, Whidbey Institute and the South Whidbey School District working in partnership to develop this group of community leaders while pro-viding our local community with nutritious produce that feeds many on South Whidbey. The produce grown in these community

gardens goes into the Good Cheer Food Bank, the cafeterias in the public schools, groups at Whidbey Institute and WIN lunch-es. The educational side of the program is growing our new community leaders but also a whole new generation of gardeners in the experiences of the school children at South Whidbey Schools and Waldorf who learn alongside these apprentices.The apprenticeship includes leadership

training and learning sustainable agricul-tural practices. The strength of this program is the hands-on experience each apprentice gets while having mentors available to keep them on track. This internship provides a real world experience that is transferable to many different kinds of community gardens including rural and urban communities. The updates from alumni of the program give testament to the skills learned here on South Whidbey.As this Community Garden Leadership

Training program matures, our community has been fortunate enough to retain some of our apprentices. These leaders have taken on

the challenge of building on the success of the local programs while adding their own style of managing these projects. Lissa Firor stayed on at Good Cheer Food

Bank as our Produce Manager. Camille Green took on the management of the Good Cheer Garden. Abigail Lazarowski manages the Westgar-

den at the Whidbey Institute as well as over-seeing the Community Garden Leadership Training program along with founder Cary

Peterson, now the South Whidbey Farm and School Gardens Coordinator.If you are interested in working alongside

these apprentices or are just interested in gardening, there are many volunteer pos-sibilities in each garden program. You can learn more about the CGLT program, the apprentices and the organizations involved in this program at https://cultivatingcom-munitywhidbey.wordpress.com/.

More than 33,310 pounds of fresh, locally grown produce was distributed through the Food Bank in 2014; 8,000 pounds more than in 2013.Kitchen volunteers preserved 1,930

pounds of produce via freezing, drying and pickling.

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Couponing know-how equals big savings for Food Bank, clients and volunteersEvery Wednesday at noon on the second

floor of Good Cheer’s Langley Thrift Store, a group of volunteers gather over a simple lunch and then clip, mark and sort coupons while fine-tuning the art and science of cou-poning for the Food Bank as well as their own household.Led by Good Cheer’s “Coupon Queen,”

Ula Lewis, the table is a blur of cutting and marking. Hands fly swiftly through coupon booklets, creating stacks of 24, which are then dated and sorted into color- coded bins on a shelf holding about 5,000 newspaper inserts.The group meets from noon to 4

p.m., with people coming and going as they need to. Two of the women drive down from Oak Harbor each week, including Renee Fangman, a four-year veteran couponer from Oak Harbor and Ula’s right-hand organiz-er, who is almost encyclopedic in her knowledge of savvy couponing tips. “I enjoy the rush of watching the checkout total go up to $500 and then after applying coupons, paying only $5.48,” she said.

An Art and a ScienceIn 2014, Good Cheer purchased 41% of

the food that was distributed to clients, and 33% of these purchases were made via the

couponing program. Ula spent $54,884, but pur-chased $153,358 worth of food; a 75% savings off retail. (This uses the

standard $1.66 per pound formula that Food Lifeline uses; the actual savings are likely higher.)“The first thing I do is check the store ads

that post online Monday and Tuesday at 9 p.m. and see what is available, and then I go to the online coupon databases. I work with Food Bank Manager Karen Korbelik to de-termine what the Food Bank’s needs are for the week and plan accordingly,” said Ula.“Right now there’s a $2 off coupon for

Nutella, but the shelf price is $5.49 and that’s not enough savings,” she said. Fortunately, Ula has several people on the

island looking out for specials, and one saw Nutella on sale for $2.49 a jar in Oak Har-bor. Armed with the coupons, Ula was able to purchase 98 jars of Nutella for the Food Bank for just 49 cents apiece -- a $5 savings off each jar.On average, her group clips a thousand

coupons per week. With those numbers one might think that grocery store managers would cringe when she goes shopping, but that’s not the case at all.“We’ve cultivated excellent relationships

with our local stores and have developed

ways to streamline the purchasing. To a store, a coupon is the same as money, so they don’t have any problems with it. And we also believe in supporting local business-es by buying local when possible,” she said.

Sharing KnowledgeUla commits time and energy to Good Cheer

because of the respect and attention to peo-ple’s dignity that she personally experienced as a Food Bank client years ago when her hus-band was temporarily laid off of work. Several times a year Ula teaches a coupon-

ing class to Food Bank clients, volunteers and anyone from the community who wants to learn how to save money on groceries.She often hands out contact cards to inter-

ested shoppers she meets at the store. “The first thing I tell beginners is that they

need to make a list of what their family en-joys eating, then look at what they need to purchase.“We make it fun and we know we’re help-

ing people make their money stretch.“I think Nancy Whitaker said it best: ‘Cou-

poning is like going to the casino, but you win every time’,” she said.On Ula’s wish list: that all local churches

would have a bin where parishioners could bring in their weekly coupon inserts for Good Cheer so that she can provide even more food for people in need.

▲... Renee Fangman (l) drives down from Oak Harbor each week to help clip coupons at the Wednesday group. Her favorite cou-poning blog? TheKrazyCouponLady.com

◄... Ula Lewis


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Keep it fresh, friendly and affordableNew Managers at Good Cheer’s Langley and Clinton Thrift Stores work to

▲... More books! The enlarged book section features a read-ing table with books on display in the Langley Store.◄... Longtime staffer Irene Walker at the counter in the newly arranged front entrance which now has a view all the way to the back.

“It looks more open and light and much refreshed,” those are the most frequently heard comments shoppers make to Lang-ley Thrift Store’s new manager Robin Bell. “That and the fact that you can now see all the way to the back of the store and see our lovely new book section.“We want shoppers to be able to see things

quickly, and to enable us to put more items into the store at the same time,” she said. “Every area has some hidden treasure in it that is here to be found. We’re just making it a little easier.”To this end, Robin and her crew took down

an interior wall to open it up for more fur-niture up front and cleared out older items.“We are utilizing wall space better, and

have added new shelving,” she said, point-ing to an enlarged giftware section.“When you take something and move it

and give it a different perspective, then peo-ple ‘see’ it,” Bell said.Case in point is the new front display coun-

ter donated by Lind’s which exhibits the jewelry to better advantage.Bell also tries to group items together

around themes or colors. The window display, for example, has several lemon-themed plates, bowls and decorative items. The linen section features an array of blue sheets, bedspreads, towels and pillows.Bell frequently takes the pulse of what

customers think or are looking for, and clearly enjoys chatting with local shoppers

▲... Good Cheer Two in Clinton features some new jewelry display cases. Staffer Jaime Blomquist and Store Manager Steve Harkey work on finding the best way to display a new shipment of rings.

and tourists alike.“When shoppers walk through the door

our goal is that they are warmly greeted and have a sense of welcome and excitement. And that by the time they leave, they know that by shopping here they have sup-ported he Food Bank and are thanked,” she said..Major changes are also tak-

ing place at Good Cheer Two in

Clinton as new store manager Steve Harkey finds ways to better display merchandise for greater sales.

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▲... Langley Good Cheer Manager Robin Bell has been busy organizing the kitchen and cooking section of the store.

▲... Furniture is a big seller at Clinton’s Good Cheer Two Thrift Store which frequently carries sofas, tables, coffee tables, cabinets and chairs, plus antique furniture.

“We’ve made improvements to make things easier to see, easier to get to, and pricing them to sell quickly... and we try to keep it fun here,” Harkey said, mention-ing several recent theme sales. The Clinton Store is also sporting red letter signs for the various departments so that customers can easily find items of interest.“My philosophy is that I don’t want it sit-

ting here. It was donated to raise money for the Food Bank, so we price it fairly and try to move it out the door. To that end, we’ve also set up a half off clearance section near the front of the store,” Harkey added.The Rack clothing area has received a sig-

nificant makeover and now contains a good deal more clothing items and accessories.Both stores have more shelf space thanks

to the carpentry of Thrift Store staffer David Moore. They need it, as Good Cheer’s Dis-tribution Center truck arrives twice a day at both stores with new items. “Every day is a new day filled with new

items in our Thrift Stores,” Harkey added.

“When shoppers walk through the door our goal is that they are warmly greeted and feel a sense of welcome and excitement. And that by the time they leave, they know that by shop-ping here they have supported the Food Bank, and are thanked for it.”

– Robin Bell,Langley Store Manager

Sales revenues accounted for 69% of operational funding. At $847,358 – this is a new high in the history of Good Cheer Thrift Stores, with an increase of $54,040 over 2013!

$847,358

2014Langley Revenues......................$369,457Clinton Store Revenues..............$477,901TOTAL SALES:...........................$847,358

Thrift Store Revenues for Last 10 Years

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014


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What’s Growing at Good Cheer...I was asked to write a column about What’s

Growing on the Good Cheer Board of Di-rectors. I was a little stumped because it has remained 15 members strong since its inception in the 1960’s. Did you know that Good Cheer was the

first nonprofit agency ever formed on the south end of Whidbey? It was.We’ve grown a lot from the days when a

few volunteers passed out boxes of food in our Langley Store. We now have a Food Bank with a grocery store model stocked with healthy choices and plenty of freshly grown produce.I think that what is growing on our board

is the ongoing commitment to provide good stewardship to the agency as it strives to create a hunger-free community on South Whidbey.

◄... Helen Price-Johnson is a long-time friend of Good Cheer.

“I am Good Cheer” awareness campaign shows community inter-connectedness

Our board continues to evolve to keep up with the complexity of our organization. They serve on committees addressing such varied subjects as finance, personnel, new board recruitment and facility maintenance. Bylaws must be reviewed to ensure they keep pace with our functioning. All Board members take part in fundrais-

ing efforts. We are mindful of our role as spokespersons for our agency. We are al-ways on the lookout for new members who bring their own special talents to help grow the board.Keep us in mind if you have some time and

talent to offer.On behalf of the Board,

– Marilee SeligsonBoard President

The new “I am Good Cheer” campaign was developed to increase the community’s awareness of the many ways there are to be connected to the grassroots charity such as shopping at the Thrift Stores, donating items, serving as a volunteer, receiving help as a client, and being a financial supporter.

Welcome to these new Board Members

Rob Anderson, Treasurer

Bob Green, Secretary

JohnLawson

Laura Weeks

Kathryn Stevens

Michael, Miles & Briar Morgen

Helen

Price Johnson ▲... Michael Morgen and his two sons

shopping at the Langley Thrift Store.

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Cultivating volunteers through convenient scheduling

In 2014 our community volunteered 39,415 hours

which translates to an additional

19 full-time positions.

Good Cheer ‘freshens up’ its logo and adds one for childrenIt’s good to ‘freshen’

things up every so often, and Good Cheer is rolling out two slightly new takes on its logo: one for regular use, and one for items and events involving children, which feature friendly faces on food items.“We hope our enhanced

identity shows our com-mitment to healthy food choices,” says Good Cheer’s Executive Director Kathy McCabe.

Good Cheer Food Bank had a record 18,608 visits in 2014 – once again handled 99% of

the time by VOLUNTEERS.

▲... We love hosting volunteer work parties from local businesses, organizations and churches and will work with you to find the most convenient day and time.

Good Cheer loves our volunteers. We try to accommodate our volunteers by being very flexible with how you volunteer, from scheduling to what kind of tasks you would like to do while you volunteer. Some folks just drop in whenever they

have time. Others schedule their hours ev-ery week. We appreciate every minute you spend with us.When groups want to volunteer at Good

Cheer, we are happy to schedule special times that can accommodate a whole group from a service organization, church or school. If your group would like to sched-ule a volunteering event on a Sunday or evening that is outside our normal business hours, we will work with you to find a time that we can make it happen.If you would like us to come and speak to

your group about Good Cheer, we would love to come. For more information, contact Shawn

Nowlin at [email protected].


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Good Cheer Food Bank & Thrift StoresPO Box 144Langley, WA 98260www.goodcheer.org

NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDSAM INC

Good Cheer Board of direCtorsMarilee Seligson, President Bob Olson, Vice President Rob Anderson, TreasurerBob Green, Secretary

Jerry BaconPam BickelJohn LawsonTom NackJay RyanKay Stanley Kathryn StevensBill WattsLaura WeeksGene White

Executive Director Kathleen McCabe

SHOP LOCAL n DONATE LOCAL n FEED LOCALS

Name: __________________________________

E-Mail __________________________________

Phone: __________________________________

Good Cheer Thrift StoresFrequent Buyer Card

Have all 12 price tags on the back of this card punched, get 10% o�

your 12th purchase and enter to win amonthly drawing of a $25 gift card for

Good Cheer Thrift Stores.

NEW! Frequent BuyerRewards

Frequent BuyerRewards

Make 12 purchases andreceive 10% o� your 12th purchase.

Gift Ideas for Moms, Dads and GradsBuy $50 Gift Certi�cate

Receive a FREE$10 Gift Certi�cate

Buy $25 Gift Certi�cateReceive a FREE

$5 Gift Certi�cate

OR


$5 Gift Certi�cate


$10 Gift Certi�cateMust present coupon at time of purchase. Cannot be combined with any other o�er.

Expires June 30, 2015

In 2014 our Food Bank served an average of

923 families a month.

2015 spring good cheer newsletter

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