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These are rocky times. Money is short, resources are strained, and client numbers are increasing rapidly. These are problems the emergency food community has faced for years, but they have accelerated in recent years. During this time, it has become increasingly clear why the Washington Food Coalition is so important. What organization in Washington State wholly and specifically represents the interests of emergency food sites and their clients? Only the Washington Food Coalition. Our Mission The Washington Food Coalition actively educates and networks with organizations that strive to alleviate hunger throughout Washington Our Vision The Washington Food Coalition is the unified voice for a strong emergency food system F ood for Thought WaFoodCoalition.org No one in Washington State should go hungry Washington Food Coalition Newsletter / Winter 2014 Washington Food Coalition PO Box 95752 Seattle, WA 98145 Support our work at wafoodcoalition.org/donate current resident or NON-PROFIT U.S. Postage PAID Olympia, WA Permit No. 238 This newsletter prepared with funds made available by the WA Dept. of Agriculture, Food Assistance Programs No person shall on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, national origin, age, citizenship, political affiliations, belief, veteran status or sexual orientation, be denied employment or benefits or be discriminated against as a participant, administrator or staff member under this program. I n 2015, we are hosting our second Winter Food Summit. It is our goal to bring the best and highest quality training opportunities to our membership, and this is one of the ways we do just that. The Winter Food Summit will again be held at The Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, and this year we’re bringing two different learning tracks to meet the needs of every hunger relief professional. The first track is our Food Banking Certification course, in an accelerated format. This series of workshops is designed to cover the core competencies necessary for a well-run food bank or food pantry. The topics covered include Organizational Basics, Food Banking 101, Food Safety, Volunteer Management and Forms Training. The training will conclude with a brief competnecy exam and a Certificate issued upon completion. This series is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for professional development in the food banking business. The bonus track this year is our Step Up Your Game workshop series. We will first hear from Jim Shapiro from The Better Fundraising Company on Ask - Thank - Report - Repeat. This workshop was the highest rated training at our annual conference this year! The second workshop in the Step Up Your Game learning track is presented by Debra Trappen from D11 Consulting. This workshop is Engage, Elevate, Empower, and Educate Your Community with Social Media...taking your strategy to the next level in 2015. This is our social media 201 session, designed to show you how to capitalize on the social media networks you might already use. There’s so much more you can do with your agency brand to fire you up! The summit will also be full of opportunities to share ideas and network with other attendees, as well as a tour of nearby member agency to see how they run their fabulous program. You do not want to miss this incredible opportunity to experience WFC training and start the new year off right. To learn more about the Winter Food Summit and register, visit www.wafoodcoalition.org/winter-summit. Contact us directly for specific questions or if you need to register over the phone. It’s time to Renew Your Membership W e know this is a very busy time of year for you as you work to provide nutritious food to the multitudes of families that come seeking services this holiday season. Please know that you are in our thoughts as you work untold hours and give unselfishly of yourself and your time. This time of year also happens to be the season to renew your membership with the Washington Food Coalition. Membership dues for calendar year 2015 are due on January 1st. For many of you this notice provides an opportunity to renew your valued membership and for others a time to join for the first time. Some of the most exciting items that we provided to members in 2014 include: o Discounted fee to our annual conference o Free valuable resources manuals – Food Safety, Special Dietary Needs, Food Banking and Best Practices. o Training opportunities at Winter Food Summit and conference o Monthly e-newsletters and quarterly newsletters o Lead the effort for an additional $800,000 in State EFAP funds. o Programming and services, including individual technical assistance o New Food Bank Certification course o Resource to assist you in better serving your clients o Access to over 300 other WFC members – your colleagues in the fight against hunger! We thank you for your participation and support throughout the year. Your generous membership renewal makes our work possible and successful. Please take this opportunity to renew your membership quickly and easily today by mailing your dues payment in or renew online quickly and easily at www.wafoodcoalition.org/membership. If you are a lead agency and you’d like to renew membership for multiple agencies or if you’d like an invoice for your member dues, please contact Trish Twomey ([email protected]) We can’t do this work without you, our valued member, nor do we want to do this work without you! Is This address correct? If not, please let us know! Food for Thought A publication of the Washington Food Coalition P.O. Box 95752 Seattle, WA 98145-2752 P 206.729.0501 F 206.729-0504 [email protected] www.wafoodcoalition.org Visit wafoodcoalition.org and read about the latest news on our blog. Find us on YouTube, Facebook & Twitter Presented by Need-A-Break Services
