The Vashon Maury Community Food Bank is the 2009 winner Food Lifeline’s “Agency Excellence Award” for excellence in collaboration.

For its excellence in collaboration, Vashon Maury Community Food Bank receives $5,000 from Pacific Continental Bank to continue expanding its mission, and to increase and better its capabilities to serve the hungry people in the Vashon community, according to a release from the agency.

Food Lifeline presented the Agency Excellence Awards at its Annual Agency Conference in Shoreline, on March 23. The conference hosts expert leaders from Food Lifeline’s 300 member agencies all throughout Western Washington, connecting them with each other, opening channels of communication and highlighting their successes. The awards, presented to four individual agencies excelling in their mission to feed hungry people include:

Excellence in Community Resource Development, sponsored by Food Lifeline
Excellence in Collaboration, sponsored by Pacific Continental Bank
Excellence in Food Resource Development, sponsored by Food Lifeline
Excellence in Client Service, sponsored by Food Lifeline

As the Excellence in Collaboration award-winner, Vashon Maury Community Food Bank demonstrated its exemplary approaches to ending hunger by facilitating activities that encourage working together to end hunger. The winning best practices included expanding services to include facilitation and support for clients to apply for state and federal support programs, (ie., Basic Food, the Food Stamp program, Basic Health, etc), in order to bridge the limitations of state support agencies in reaching the Vashon community. With little to no budget for expanded services, this was undertaken and made possible through a collaborative effort with a willing and supportive Public Health Office located in Seattle.

Working with and signing people up for government support programs are now one of the many volunteer jobs at the Food Bank, thanks to training and support provided by the Public Health Office. Previously, Vashon residents seeking a helping hand through basic state administered support programs found themselves having to spend much needed dollars and time to take a ferry and travel outside of the community, into Seattle, often multiple times to apply and obtain things like food stamps, basic health coverage, and medical coupons.

The cost of one trip amounts to anywhere from $14 to $20 with current ferry rates. This in some cases could equal the amount of food stamps awarded for a month. Vashon residents can now apply through the local food bank, request phone interviews for DSHS final approval and reviews, and obtain basic services such as food stamps without having to leave their community, Vashon Island, to do it.

“These awards are a way for us to honor excellent programs that are making a real difference in communities all across Western Washington while building the capacity of the system we serve," said Food Lifeline president and Chief Executive Officer Linda Nageotte "With the generous support of Pacific Continental Bank we can continue to invest strategically in the solid work of our member agencies."