As the cost of gas and food has skyrocketed in the last six months so has the number of senior citizens visiting the White Center Food Bank.

Part of the frustration that Rick Jump, executive director of the White Center Food Bank, sees with the ever-growing population of senior citizens visiting his food bank is the stress they endure during regular food bank hours when the center is often overcrowded.

"This food bank gets very busy," said Jump. "We use to serve between 1,000 to 1,100 (people) a month but now we're up to 1,500 families a month. I try to stay in touch with my clients, and I hear from the seniors more than anybody how much they're struggling now."

In March the White Center Food Bank started a new program called Senior Days to help give the older crowd a little bit of hand holding when they come to visit the food bank. Time is reserved for people 60 years of age and older Thursdays from 11 a.m. to noon. It's set up like a social hour for seniors.

Unlike regular hours, visitors are broken up into smaller groups to avoid overcrowding. A food bank hostess also offers coffee and donuts to the senior citizens while they wait for their turn in line.

"Senior Day started off pretty slow with maybe 20, but now we're up to 50 on some days," said Jump. "That's the difference between Senior Days, regular clients here are allowed one visit per month during our day time distribution hours and if they need additional support they can visit one of our evening food banks. With the new program our senior population are allowed to have two daytime visits because they have a really hard time making it out at night."

Jump had said evening hours are their busiest times in the day.

"We get about 150 families in one evening," he said. "Our parking lot fills up, the neighboring lot fills up and the street is filled also. So it helps to have seniors avoid that rush and have them come during the day."

White Center also serves a very large immigrant and refugee population; the senior program's primary group is Vietnamese.

"The elders in that community really appreciate Senior Day," said Jump. "One of the things I've done by taking over as executive director is working really hard to diversify not only our volunteer pool but our board of directors as well. I think it makes a more welcoming atmosphere when you have people who look like you and speak like you. So on most days I have two to three Vietnamese speakers."

On these days the food bank also tries to provide foods that are appropriate for their senior visitors by offering low sodium soups, additional produce and dairy products.

"We also try and have nutritional supplements like Ensure and that sort of thing," said Jump. "It's a very exciting program, one that I expect to continue to grow."

Jump said seniors are also big on produce because it really is out of their budget to buy, along with dairy products.

To accommodate this need Jump has started a new partnership formed with a group in West Seattle called Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle. They work with local gardeners and fruit tree growers and receive their surplus product.

"We've gotten a couple thousand pounds of produce from them and that's usually produce that goes to waste and stays on the ground to rot," said Jump. "Community Harvest has volunteers go to people's houses to pick this produce up and they send it out to us."

Another source of produce is a garden the food bank has on the side of its building. There they grow and harvest herbs and vegetables, which are distributed to customers and used for cooking demonstrations in the food bank kitchen.

Once a week a nutritionist comes to the food bank and develops recipes from using the center's products. Then the recipes are demonstrated to food bank clients, who are sent home with the recipe and the ingredients.

"It benefits us because what we're doing is trying to get people to make healthier choices," said Jump.

The food bank is expecting another rise in its client base when 459 low-income units for seniors open next spring through the White Center Senior Housing Assistance Group. Also, the Greenbridge facility, a senior and disabled housing project just down the street from the food bank on 8th Avenue Southwest, will open next month.

"We've seen a huge increase in seniors and I anticipate that that's just going to continue to grow," Jump said.

Regular distribution hours run Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and every second and fourth Wednesday evenings from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Volunteer opportunities are available and donations are gladly accepted for more information call 762-2848 or visit www.whitecenterfoodbank.org.

Allison Espiritu may be reached at 783-1244 or allisone@robinsonnews.com.