A Spokane-based nonprofit that supplies food for the region is playing an important role in one rural central Washington town.
Last Thursday at 8 a.m., people were lined up at the Othello Christian Church, waiting for Second Harvest and the Othello Food Bank to set up tents and give out free food to members of the small rural community.
They were early. The mobile food bank wasn’t due for another two hours.
“You have a lot of seasonal workers, farm workers, you have seniors, middle class and so the food insecurity is always going to be an ongoing issue in Othello,” said Jose Garza, the food bank’s executive director.
Garza has been partnering with Second Harvest to reduce food insecurity in Adams County. He says the situation has improved but there is still a growing need. That was made clear by the long line of cars that wrapped around the church where they set up.
Second Harvest, a nonprofit that supplies a network of partner food banks for people in need in 21 counties in eastern Washington and five counties in north Idaho, has distributed free produce since the food bank launched four years ago.
Garza says with inflation driving up prices for necessities, the food bank has been an important institution in the community.
“If the housing market is going up, the food prices are going up, gas is going up,” Garza said. “I don't see food insecurity going away anytime soon. If anything, it's going to either grow or it's either going to plateau and stay the same.”
Othello has a 21.9% poverty rate, according to a 2022 report from DATA USA, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The same report says 76% of the community is Hispanic.
Lydia Rocha, a long-time Othello resident, said she has stopped by the mobile food bank events a couple of times, but at first didn’t want to because she felt embarrassed.
“I felt bad but then I see other people getting it too, you know? So I was like, if everyone’s getting it then why not,” Rocha said.
She’s disabled and currently waiting to undergo a knee surgery. Rocha said she hasn’t worked for a few years so she has benefited from being able to get food from the mobile food bank.
The last time they did a mobile food distribution event, she said she was able to get what she needed to feed her family beef soup several times.
“I like it, and I don't get embarrassed anymore,” she said. “I need the food and my kids need it.”
Rocha had been in line for an hour behind Hilda Cardenas. Cardenas had been waiting close to an hour-and-a-half. She said in Spanish this was the second time she’d received free produce from the food bank. She immediately drove over to the church when her son told her about it.
“I haven’t worked in two years and stay at home to care for my kids so this is a blessing,” Cardenas said.
She said she’s never on social media and isn’t aware of when the events happen, so the last time she drove to the food bank distribution was last year when they gave out turkeys for Thanksgiving.
“It was the biggest turkey I had ever seen,” she said laughing.
She said by stopping by this second time, this will help make a few meals for her family.
According to Second Harvest’s 2022 Accountability Report, one in eight people in Adams County are food insecure, including one in five children. It’s a common theme seen in other surrounding counties as well, such as Grant County and Okanogan County.
Besides its partnerships with Second Harvest, the Othello Food Bank works with Skill Source for people who want to get their GED, OIC of Washington for utility assistance and Harvest Against Hunger, which helps reduce food insecurity and food waste.
“The goal to eliminate (food insecurity) is not just supporting food banks. It's education. It's showing them how to grow a garden. It's a lot of factors,” Garza said.
The next time Second Harvest will stop in Othello, alongside the Othello Food Bank, will be September 12. But the food bank is local and can help community members who may need extra assistance at other times.
