Dear Neighbor,

Every day, amidst the towering shelves of food and the hum of a busy warehouse, I see the starfish story replay itself in a thousand ripples in our community.

The story goes like this: A child stumbles upon a beach filled with starfish washed ashore after a storm. Wanting to help, they toss the starfish back into the ocean, one by one. An adult watching them asks, “Don’t you know it’s pointless? You can’t possibly save them all.” As the child throws a starfish into the ocean, they reply, “I made a difference to that one.”

We face that overwhelming tide of need at the Food Bank every day. It’s easy to feel like one can of beans, one bag of rice, is a mere splash in a vast ocean of hunger. 

The starfish story is the essence of our mission at the Food Bank. We may not single-handedly end hunger, that vast ocean threatening to engulf so many. But like the child on the beach, we refuse to turn away. We focus on the starfish in front of us - families choosing between rent and groceries, seniors choosing between medication and food, and children too hungry to focus at school.

I recently had the privilege of meeting with Evalin, a single mother of two who relies on our partner agencies. She shared how a single bag of groceries means her son can finally have birthday cake this year. Every day, we see the starfish we toss back into the ocean contributing to our neighbors’ lives.

We tossed quite a few starfish back into the waves in the past year. We distributed over 13 million meals, providing nourishment and hope. But the ocean stretches vast, and countless starfish still cling to the sand. Will you join us by throwing back a starfish? While we may not be able to save them all, we can certainly make a difference for those we reach.

With unwavering hope,

Jamie Kendall, CEO