Sustainable Renton steps up to feed the community

A nonprofit organization in Renton has been working extra to try to make sure people are not going hungry this fall.

Sustainable Renton is usually focused on sustainable growing, preserving and rescuing food that may otherwise go to waste at grocery stores and restaurants. However, with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits being withheld for the last month, and the uncertainty for many families of whether they will be able to eat, the nonprofit is stepping up to bring food to those in need.

“It’s put a lot of community members in a jam. We’re doing our best to kind of make sure there is food available,” Sustainable Renton Director Alecia Burke said. “We are not typically a direct distributor of food to the public, but when the need arises, we do our best to adapt.”

Burke said it has felt like a “whiplash” from SNAP, with the program being available one day and gone the next. She said the Washington state government has been helping to bridge the gap in the interim, but it doesn’t make it any easier for people who need food.

Burke said they did a pop-up food pantry at the Renton Library on Nov. 6 and held another one on Nov. 20. She said these pantries provide free, fresh and shelf-stable groceries to anyone in need.

“We are just responding to the need. We are trying to step in where we can,” Burke said. “We’ve had some really generous donors, but of course the money goes quickly when trying to feed people.”

Burke said they also partner with REACH Renton and Luther’s Table to host a weekly community meal, called Luther’s Meal, from 8 to 10 a.m. every Saturday morning at 419 S. 2nd Street.

“It’s a free meal for anyone who walks in and we provide the food from grocery food,” Burke said. “We have some fabulous partners in and around the Renton area. We then take this food to Luther’s Table, and REACH Renton prepares it into a breakfast.”

Burke said they usually feed between 40 to 60 people, but this past month, they have seen an increase. She said they also provide a take-out meal at the event, as well as a food pantry to get anything else people need.

“It’s all from stuff that would have gone to waste. That goes back to our mission of sustainability. We don’t want to see this food going to the dump,” Burke said. “It may be something like, maybe you don’t have the prettiest looking apples, but you can make a really good apple cobbler from those.”

Burke said during this time, their greatest need is volunteers and donations. The nonprofit’s large fundraiser event, Building a Bigger Table, is a dinner and silent auction, planned for 6 p.m. Dec. 12. Tickets to the event are now available online.

“Truly every dollar that we get, we stretch it as far as we can. At the moment we are pretty much grant and private donation funded,” Burke said.

The nonprofit is made up of only four paid employees and is in need of volunteers to help with sorting food on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, at their pantry pop-ups and at Luther’s Meal. She said they are in need of volunteers on their subcommittees who may have experience on other committees. They also need to have more volunteer drivers to help pick up food from grocery stores.

“We have so many cool people that help us out and are skilled, but there are just some areas that we need some extra support,” Burke said.

Volunteer opportunities and donation links can be found on the Sustainable Renton website, along with upcoming events and more information about the work the nonprofit is doing.

“I think we’ve put our best foot forward and we’ve done as much as we can. We are going to continue doing it to the best of our ability, providing that we have funding and capacity in the way of volunteers and staff,” Burke said.