Safeway Store in Aberdeen Donates “Near Date” Items to Food Banks

The Ocean Shores Food Bank is one of four groups on Grays Harbor County that have started receiving help from the Aberdeen Safeway store with ongoing efforts to feed hungry Harborites through a program administered by Seattle-based nonprofit Food Lifeline.

Since mid-September, local volunteers have driven to Safeway each Saturday morning to pick up 300 to 400 pounds of frozen meat and fresh produce, dairy and bakery items that are “near date” or have minor handling damage or blemishes, said Food Bank Executive Director Sandy Harley. The program is tightly regulated and volunteers must be certified by Food Lifeline.

To support the effort, Safeway employees daily sort and store perishable products for the four local food agencies.

“The bottom line is that we’re able to help people in our own communities, in our own back yard. It’s a very sad statistic that, in Washington state, one in five children go hungry every day,” Kennedy said. “It’s very sad, but we can definitely help, and that’s very exciting.”

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