Families in need to receive produce, perishables

MOSES LAKE - A 24-foot refrigerated truck loaded with fresh produce for the area's hungry rolls into Moses Lake Friday at 10 a.m.

The truck will be at the McCosh Park parking lot across from Immanuel Lutheran Church, located at 1020 S. A St., from 10 a.m. to noon.

The truck, dubbed the "Thrivent Homegrown Help Truck," represents a collaboration between the Northern Rocky Mountain Region of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Second Harvest Inland Northwest to get produce to under-served communities in a timely manner.

The truck, which holds 7,000 to 10,000 pounds of food, is being used by Second Harvest to collect, inventory and deliver produce.

David Jacobson, financial secretary for the Grant County chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, said this is the first time the truck will come to Moses Lake. A similar food distribution event took place in George last year and one is scheduled for Grand Coulee in July, he added.

"It's an opportunity to serve the community," Jacobson said. "It's really an extension of Helping Hands Day which is, I believe, in May, sponsored by Thrivent for Lutherans. They give a certain amount of money to the chapter each year to sponsor some goodwill action in the community. This is what the chapter chose to do."

Approximately 12 volunteers from the Grant County chapter and volunteers from the area's Lutheran churches will assist in distributing the produce Friday.

Jacobson said the event is open to anyone who feels as though they need produce and perishables like milk or juice.

"There are no limits on income," he said. "The only thing Second Harvest asks is that they sign in at the beginning with the number of people in their household."

Nearly 197,000 Inland Northwest residents receive emergency food assistance one or more times each year from Second Harvest's network, according to network documents.

"Those numbers are increasing with the current economic situation," Jacobson said. "The desired outcome is the truck is empty when it leaves to go back to Spokane, that all the food has been distributed to families that need the produce and perishables."

For more information, call Jacobson at 509-765-4337.