Bonney Lake Mayor's Food Drive Ends This Week

BONNEY LAKE, WA — Tis the season for giving, and the City of Bonney Lake is hoping the community is in a festive mood.

For the past few weeks, they've been raising money for the 7th annual Mayor's Food Drive. It's now the drive's final week, and they're in the home stretch, but they're short on their goal and hoping more community members will reach out and donate.

The drive benefits the Bonney Lake Food Bank, with a goal of raising enough to buy 1,000 meals for local families and individuals in need. Unfortunately, they've only reached about half of their $25,000 goal, so they're hoping for one final push of support before they round out this year's drive.

Anyone who is interested in taking part can donate here. Donors can choose to give $25 to pay for a holiday meal for someone in need, or they can give any amount directly to the food bank.

Either way, they'll be helping out at a critical time for their community.

This year, the need for food has been greater than ever. The pandemic has left hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians without jobs or struggling to pay for rent or other necessities. Non-profit Feeding America estimates that 804,080 Washingtonians are struggling with hunger. 244,480 of those are children, meaning 1 in 7 kids in the evergreen state does not have a stable source of food.

The Bonney Lake Food Bank is just one of Washington's food banks that has stepped up to try and meet the growing need for help. Early in the pandemic, they announced an emergency response plan to try and meet a projected sixfold increase in demand — and even before the pandemic they served 3,000 people each month through their food pantry program.

Learn more about the Bonney Lake Food Bank, and how to get involved by visiting their website.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 50 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.