Out of Seattle's 27 food banks, the Ballard Food Bank is one of the biggest. It feeds 1,200 hungry people a week and in the last four years it has doubled in size and continues to grow.

At the helm of the indispensable organization is Nancy McKinney, a basic needs advocate who has spent the majority of her life helping others.

"I have volunteered my whole life and built my career that way," she said. "I worked in the for-profit business but it did not feel right for people to be making lots of money with no other purpose than to make money," McKinney said.

An avid cross-country skier, McKinney started out in the nonprofit sector as a guide for, and later president of Ski for Light, an organization that aims to enhance the quality of life and independence of visually or mobility-impaired adults through cross-country skiing.

McKinney's other local nonprofit experience includes positions at Salmon Bay School, and the Ballard Rotary Club, of which she will become the president in July.

Her passion for the hungry and the homeless is equal to her passion for students and people with disabilities.

"I guess my passion is basic needs," she said.

McKinney has been with the Ballard Food Bank since 2007 and has since seen it move to a new location and double in size and clientele.

"I didn't seek out a job that focused specifically on the homeless and hungry, and I was probably naive about where the economy was going to go and who was hungry," she admitted.

The hungry have many faces, she explained.

"It's an 85-year-old woman whose husband recently died and his life insurance won't cover the bills. It's the recently unemployed who are trying to keep it together and avoid eviction, or the college students who can only find part-time jobs," she said.
"The food bank is the safety net in the community."

Not only can people get food at the Ballard Food Bank, they can also get help from partner agencies to avoid eviction and utility shutoffs.

While they've seen an increase in users, McKinney said there are more people out there who need the food bank.

"I know pride is an issue and it keeps many people from coming in," she said.

In the past year, some people have expressed concerns that homeless people are drawn to Ballard because of the social services it offers, including the food bank.

"Only about 10 percent of our clients are homeless," McKinney said. "I don't think we're bringing the homeless to Ballard. There have always been homeless in Ballard but we have taken down all the low-income housing so people are just seeing them more."

As far as feeding the hungry, McKinney said that Seattle provides a wide breadth of services and there is enough food to go around.

"I don't think we need more services, I think we need equity across the city. A lot of food is still being wasted. And housing. We need more low-income housing," she said.

The lack of low-income housing in Ballard aside, McKinney raved about the compassion of the Ballard community and people’s willingness to help each other.

One big thing I have learned in my position is how amazing this community is," she said. "When [the food moved, two-thirds of the build-out was done by in-kind materials and labor. The way people with resources came together was amazing."

McKinney moved to Ballard in 1986, when Crown Hill was the only place she could afford a house.

She has since raised five children here (two of her own and three stepchildren) and at least one of them inherited McKinney's desire to care for others as her daughter is working toward becoming a social worker.

McKinney said knowing the community has helped her ramp up support for the food bank.

"Knowing your community and knowing how to ask is huge. People are willing to help you but you have to ask," she said.

While the Ballard Food Bank is always asking for food and hygiene items, McKinney said it's in a really stable condition.

It will soon expand service hours on Tuesdays and will open on Saturdays as well to cater to those people who are working and can't get to the food bank during its usual hours.

While McKinney made no New Year's resolution for the food bank, she did set a big one for herself.

Despite decades of work experience and many accolades, McKinney never got around to getting a college degree.

"I need to put on my big girl pants and finish my degree before I'm 50," she said.

To learn more about the Ballard Food Bank, visit http://www.BallardFoodBank.org.