How to help during the government shutdown

Many Upper Valley community members will lose access to food assistance and other support starting November 1, and we are expecting need at the Cupboard to grow.

So many of you have reached out to MEND staff asking how to help. Thank you so much!

Below you will find a menu of ways to help your neighbors and ease the burden on Cupboard staff and volunteers, who will be working hard to ensure local people get the food they need this holiday season.

Needed Food Items
Donate

Food Pantry Contact
Please coordinate all large food deliveries with:
Rachel Bishop, Food Programs Manager
(509) 699-7395
rachel@uvmend.org

Community Cupboard hours
Please donate food during these times:
Monday-Friday: 11 AM-5 PM
Saturday: 11 AM-2 PM
Sunday: Closed

Community Cupboard address:
219 14th St, Leavenworth
Please bring food inside the Cupboard, not to the alley window.

Mail checks to:
Upper Valley MEND
PO Box 772
Leavenworth, WA 98826

Your school, church, or social circle may already be organizing a food drive that is supporting the Cupboard. Giving to an existing food drive is a great way to get involved!

Check Facebook groups, websites, or text your friends and family to find out where you can give.

MEND doesn’t have the capacity to organize its own food drive during the holiday season. Any food drive you see is being organized independently by community members, and we encourage you to reach out to them for more information. We thank them so much for their help!

Participate in an existing food drive

Donate funds

Donating funds means the Cupboard can purchase in bulk. Click here to make an online donation, or send a check to Upper Valley MEND, PO Box 772, Leavenworth, WA 98826.

Consider giving monthly to help the Cupboard in an ongoing way.

Organize a food drive

If you would like to organize your own food drive, here is how to do that:

  1. With your group, decide when and how you will collect the food.

  2. To ensure you’re buying food the Cupboard can use, please refer to this list of needed food items. Consider printing them to hand out. Please no expired food.

  3. Plan to bring the food to the Cupboard (219 14th St in Leavenworth) Monday-Friday between 11AM and 5 PM. To drop off large amounts of food, please contact Rachel Bishop, Food Programs Manager (contact info in side bar) to coordinate a drop off time. This helps staff and volunteers be ready for you!

  4. Get the word out through email, social media, and texts!

  5. Bring in the food you’ve collected at the agreed-upon time. Please bring the food in bags or boxes to the front desk of the Cupboard.

Thank you so much!

Buy a little extra

If you want to do something quick and helpful, purchase a little extra while you’re grocery shopping and bring it to the Cupboard Monday-Friday between 11 AM & 5 PM, or Saturday between 11 AM & 2 PM.

  • Be sure to check this list for needed food items.

  • Please no expired food.

  • It’s easiest on staff and volunteers if you bring food to the front desk inside the Cupboard (219 14th St), not to the Das Thrift sorting center window in the alley. Thank you!

If you’d like to donate a large amount of food, please coordinate with Rachel Bishop, Food Programs Manager (contact info in the side bar) so staff and volunteers can be ready to receive it.

Many people travel from elsewhere in Chelan and Douglas counties to the Cupboard to make ends meet. Supporting other food pantries helps by making sure food is available for all close to home. It also reduces strain on the Cupboard.

Here’s a list of other food pantries:

  • Cashmere Food Pantry (Cashmere)

  • Chelan Douglas Community Action Council (Wenatchee)

  • Dryden Community Church (Dryden)

  • Entiat Valley Community Services (Entiat)

  • Lake Chelan Food Bank (Chelan)

  • The Plain Pantry (Plain)

  • Salvation Army (Wenatchee)

  • Mansfield Food Pantry (Mansfield)

  • Rock Island Food Pantry (Rock Island)

  • Waterville Food Pantry (Waterville)

Support our neighboring food pantries

Why is this happening?

Congress did not agree to pass a bill funding federal government services past October 1, when the federal budget expired.

This is affecting your neighbors in the following ways: 

  • Many of our neighbors will not receive SNAP benefits (food assistance) beginning November 1, which means they will be unable to purchase food at grocery stores.

  • Locally, some government employees have not received a full paycheck since early October.

  • WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) benefits are set to run out in the middle of November, leaving many local families without infant formula and healthy staples like eggs, milk, fresh fruits and veggies, and beans.

Many more families will be relying on local food pantries to make ends meet, but food pantries have limited food and funds to meet the need.