EPHRATA — Food banks in Ephrata, Quincy, Soap Lake and Moses Lake received donations of fresh vegetables and fruit, due to the efforts of a service organization that’s working to re-energize its chapters in the Columbia Basin.

The Knights of Columbus is more than a century old; it was founded as a fraternal organization to help people in need. “A need for help,” over and above what the parish churches could do, said Shane Ahmann, Grand Knight of the Ephrata-based chapter.

However, as people had other demands on their time, “the chapter kind of became inactive,” Ahmann said. So Ahmann, fellow parishioner Tim Hubbard and others started an effort to get more guys involved. A similar effort is underway in Moses Lake, he said.

The Ephrata chapter is also open to prospective members in Quincy and Soap Lake. Its members have supported the Crossroads pregnancy center, donating money to help the organization buy an ultrasound machine. The Knights have been a collection point for coats, which they have in turn donated to people in need. The Knights repaired a storage building at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Ephrata, and they’ve collected food for donation to local food banks, among other recent projects, Ahmann said.

An anonymous donor gave the chapter a lot of potatoes – a lot of potatoes – and the Knights also are collecting donations of apples, pears and pumpkins. The first donations of potatoes went to the food banks in Ephrata, Quincy and Soap Lake. But “we had more produce than they could handle,” Ahmann said. So last Thursday the Knights brought a trailer of potatoes to the Moses Lake Food Bank. Some of the produce will go to the soup kitchen sponsored by Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Moses Lake as well.

The Knights are looking for more work. “We’re waiting for our next big project,” Ahmann said. And they’re looking for more members; the Knights of Columbus is open to Catholic men. Men who want to know more about the organization can contact their parish office, Hubbard said.