While U.S. Department of Agriculture Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits remain partially funded and families reliant on the assistance are in limbo, there are also a multitude of other situations that may lead a family to a food assistance resource.
In Ridgefield, for students and their families, as well as staff of the Ridgefield School District, the Ridgefield Family Resource Center (FRC) can come as a beacon of hope. The resource center is entirely community driven. As the SNAP benefit situation lands around the holiday season, FRC Director Chris Poppert said this time of year brings in many donations, but the issue of food insecurity is important throughout the year.
“Everything you see in there is 100 percent donated from the community,” Poppert said.
The resource center provides fresh groceries, non-perishable foods, self-care items and even clothing. The only qualifications to access the items is being a student and family member or staff member of the school district.
“It’s community at its best,” Poppert said of the support the FRC receives. “It’s people putting empathy into action.”
According to data provided by the State of Washington, in March of this year, 10.8% of Clark County residents were recipients of SNAP benefits. That totals out to 58,166 residents of the county.
Poppert is pleased with the amount of support and kindness she sees from the community, not just in the school district, but also as a resident of the city of Ridgefield.
“People are just pouring into the FRC,” she said. “They’re pouring into Compassion 360. They’re pouring into Neighbors Helping Neighbors and a lot of other agencies all over Clark County. So that is a beautiful part, right? It’s sad, but personally, I love my job and I love what I do. But it makes me sad that I have my job, right? It is essential and it is so unique in Ridgefield that we can offer this level of support.”
As there are many assistance centers available throughout the county, Poppert said community food banks and resource centers will not be able to meet the demand of that many residents seeking a different option for food insecurities.
Poppert said this time of year is always busy, but with the current crisis, she said it feels reminiscent of just five years ago.
“The emotions of people that want to contribute is a little reminiscent of COVID,” she said.
Poppert explained how she wants to build a connection with each person who walks through the doors of the resource center; however, the recent traffic has made it hard to hit that goal.
“We saw 15 families in 35 minutes yesterday,” Poppert said in reference to the amount of people who gathered food and supplies at the FRC on Wednesday, Nov. 5. “People that have moved out of our community are reaching out for support. I’m trying to connect them with resources in their own community now. I’ve had people from La Center reach out to figure out how to get food in La Center. I’ve had people from Vancouver reach out to figure out how to get food in their community. We serve a lot of families even just through email, too.”
With each family comes a story, Poppert said. Sometimes, assistance may be as simple as finding a certain shoe size. Or even the quality of donations that are received, like a brand new microwave. Each item donated will ultimately end up helping at least one out of over 100 families that consistently utilize the Ridgefield Family Resource Center.
For Poppert and working in Ridgefield, from an outside perspective, Ridgefield may have an appearance of a well-to-do area. But need doesn’t always look like somebody sleeping on the street, she said. Need may look like a family struggling to keep a roof over their head for a variety of reasons.
“It looks like a house where maybe a spouse just lost their job at Intel or Nike or an engineering firm that just went down,” she said. “Or a doctor that just got their hours cut or a hospitalization or a cancer diagnosis where they’ve never had need before and now they’re like, ‘How do we pay for food right now? We don’t know how to do this. We don’t qualify for food stamps,’ right?”
Poppert said there is currently a higher rate of homelessness than ever before, too.
“People are challenged right now and we see it in Ridgefield,” she said.
Resource Information
The Ridgefield Family Resource Center is located in portables C and D between the Ridgefield Administrative and Civic Center building and Union Ridge Elementary at 510 Pioneer St. It operates from 1 to 5 p.m. on Mondays, from noon to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and from 1 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays. To learn more about the center’s needs or to schedule an appointment, call Poppert at 360-619-1412 or email christine.poppert@ridgefieldsd.org.
Also in Ridgefield, Neighbors Helping Neighbors is located at 21819 NW 11th Ave. People can pick up goods from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesdays. They also provide basic home needs for families who recently experienced the loss of their home. Another resource in Ridgefield is Compassion 360, located at 747 Pioneer St. at the upper back entrance of the Ridgefield Church of the Nazarene. The organization has a weekly resource share from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursdays.
Battle Ground Public Schools offers a similar resource with the Family Community Resource Center located at the Lewisville Campus, 406 NW Fifth Ave. in Battle Ground. The Battle Ground Family Community Resource Center is open Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. It is closed on days that students do not attend school.
The Family Community Resource Center in Battle Ground is available to students and their families.
McPhee’s Butcher Block in Woodland has started a community food pantry to help feed those who are currently without SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, according to a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign. McPhee’s Butcher Block is sourcing food from local farms and producers to fill the pantry. They've started a GoFundMe asking for donations to keep the food supply stocked for those who need it. The GoFundMe can be found at gofundme.com/f/support-mcphees-community-food-pantry. They are located at 2250 Robinson Road in Woodland and are open Thursday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
