Food bank needs and nonprofit driving

Mary Beth Harrington, CVA

Last week, I attended the Thurston County Chamber’s Morning Mixer at the Thurston County Food Bank (a nonprofit twofer since both are local nonprofit organizations).

The event, which celebrated the 50^th anniversary of the Food Bank, was held at their warehouse and included a tour of the facilities. While it may not surprise you to learn that the mission of the Food Bank is to eliminate hunger within our community, in the spirit of neighbor helping neighbor, you may not realize that you do not have to be destitute to utilize the Food Bank’s services. “The point of the Food Bank is to be a resource in the community whenever you need it whether that is short-term or long-term,” said Michaela one of the tour guides and who serves as the School Gardens Program Coordinator. “We don’t want folks thinking because they have a job, a house, and a car that they are not eligible for our services. Lots of people live paycheck to paycheck and may not have enough food at the end of the month”.

Some surprising facts: last year, the Food Bank distributed almost 5 million pounds of food; of that, almost 2 million pounds was ‘rescued’ (that is, food that otherwise would have been sent to a landfill), serving 62,000 of our neighbors. That may seem like a lot of cans of green beans, but due to their partnership with area grocery stores, the Food Bank is able to offer our neighbors fresh produce, meat, poultry, and even an occasional chocolate truffle from Trader Joe’s. “A lot of times, we get food that is in perfect condition, even well before the expiration date, the only issue is that the label was placed upside down,” said Allison, another of our guides and the Gleaning Program Coordinator Development Assistant. In addition to the warehouse, the Food Bank operates two food pantries, 17 satellites, and 15 mobiles.

There are three ways that you can support the Food Bank; you can donate your time as a volunteer, donate money or donate food. This time of year, many holiday events request Food Bank donations in lieu of a fee. Whenever possible, I encourage you to make a monetary donation as the Food Bank can leverage your $1 to more than $3.75 of food. “Monetary donations allow us to not just buy a crate of peanut butter or pasta but sometimes an entire truckload,” said Judy, the Development Director. To learn more about the programs and services of the Food Bank, click here.

Ombuds is a Swedish word meaning “to advocate for another.”

The pandemic has taken a heavy toll on residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. The prolonged isolation has caused physical, cognitive, and emotional health declines. The Washington State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program depends on trained volunteers, called Ombuds, to visit residents to see how they are doing and if they have concerns, questions, or needs.

The Washington State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program is operated by Multi-Service Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency that offers people pathways out of poverty through support and resources in education, employment, housing, energy assistance, food, and clothing. Currently, there is an urgent need for Ombuds throughout Washington. Ombuds are trained and certified to identify and address potential neglect, abuse, improper eviction, or retaliation that residents may be experiencing and ensure their right to quality care and visitation is protected. To learn more, click here.

Support Mileage for Volunteers

Several national organizations that support the nonprofit sector (National Council of Nonprofits, Independent Sector, and Meals on Wheels USA to name a few) recently sent letters to the U.S. Senate urging them to support the Volunteer Driver Tax Appreciation Act of 2022 (H.R. 7432) which would increase the charitable mileage rate. The bill calls to raise the volunteer mileage rate to the standard business rate for volunteers who drive their vehicles on behalf of nonprofits to transport property or individuals.

Congress has not adjusted the charitable mileage rate since it was fixed in law at 14 cents per mile in 1997 (Really!) In that time, the business mileage rate has doubled, and the price of gasoline has tripled. Further, now that itemized deductions are only taken by higher-income individuals, fewer than 10 percent of taxpayers can take advantage of this very-small tax incentive. Compounding this, the IRS and some states impose income taxes on volunteer drivers who receive expense reimbursements from nonprofits of more than 14 cents/mile. This both insults and injures volunteer drivers who give back to their communities.

The urgency of this has increased since many volunteers have not returned to volunteering in part due to the very high gas prices. The lack of sufficient numbers of volunteers means nonprofits cannot keep up with the current demand for services, much less cope with the steadily rising demand for support. For instance, many Meals on Wheels organizations must pay people to deliver meals when they cannot obtain enough volunteers. This is a particular challenge in rural areas where driving distances are farther and the pool of available volunteers is smaller.

To learn more details on the Volunteer Driver Tax Appreciation Act of 2022 (H.R. 7432) go to https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/trends-policy-issues/volunteer-mileage

Soliciting your ideas

If you know of a nonprofit that is doing something great, celebrating a success, needs some outstanding volunteers, or hosting an event, let me know! This column (aside from a little education) celebrates nonprofits!

Mary Beth Harrington, CVA (Certified Volunteer Administrator) lives in Tumwater. She travels the country speaking at conferences and to individual organizations articulating issues facing nonprofits. Send your ideas to her at  MaryBeth@theJOLTnews.com