Volunteer Spotlight: Jess Levine 

Meet Jess Levine, aka the Mayor of the University District Food Bank, who has been consistently volunteering with us for ten years!! He finds so much joy and purpose in volunteering with the Food Bank that he bookends his weeks with a Monday and Friday shift, noting that he’s one of the few people who really looks forward to Mondays. And we look forward to having him!

When did you start volunteering at the Food Bank?

December of 2013 was my first time volunteering here. When I started, we were in the former food bank space in the church basement, a very small space so we all worked close together. When the new space opened, we were so spread out it was strange at first but quickly we came to love how much room we had to get our work done.

Volunteer work has always been a big part of my life. I came to Seattle 25 years ago from Chicago and was involved in a school for children in homeless situations, then I was involved with CASA for seven years which was very rewarding, same as the food bank. I have a background in education working with intercity kids in Chicago and when I was no longer engaged in that work it was important for me to continue serving the community. 

What are your typical volunteer responsibilities?

I work in all kinds of roles, whatever needs to be done that day. I’ll work in the back, help with sorting produce, dry goods and eggs, unload the truck, make PB&Js… I don’t care what it is I’ll just chat people up and have a good time doing the work.

I love meeting new people. Any time I see a new volunteer I greet them and welcome them in. People joke that I’m the Mayor of the Food Bank because I love talking and saying hello to everyone.   

What is your favorite part about volunteering? 

I love the people and the community. There’s a crew of volunteers on Mondays who have been doing this for a long time. Pam, Betsey and I have all become close friends (we’ve been nicknamed PB&J) and we’ll socialize after our shifts, my wife has met so many new friends through my time volunteering here!  

There are many more women than men volunteering at the Food Bank, and I don’t know why that is but we need more men to step up and volunteer their time!

Why should others volunteer at the Food Bank? 

I read an article recently and it said at the end: volunteering is good for the soul. I couldn’t agree more. I personally get so much out of volunteering and being of service to others. If we’re not here to help each other why are we here at all? 

I’ve had volunteer work in my life for as long as I can remember, and it’s always given me purpose. I went to an integrated grammar school on the southside of Chicago in the 1950s. We were middle class and I saw firsthand the disparities in equity between me and my friends and it didn’t feel right to me. My parents were philanthropic and socially responsible so helping people just came naturally. 

What else do you want people to know about the Food Bank community? 

There’s a real sense of collegiality here, it’s not hierarchical. They make you feel at home and the staff is very responsive and supportive. I’ve done volunteer work for 37 years and this is as good as it gets. The shoppers are so appreciative, I’ve gotten to know so many of them and look forward to chatting.

I also don’t burn out here, the work is so important. Food is the most essential basic need, and if we aren’t capable of tackling that issue then we’re in trouble. Food scarcity is something we have the capacity to address if we work together. 

Summer Solstice Dinner at the Food Bank Rooftop!

Thank you to all who supported the University District Food Bank and attended our beautiful Summer Solstice dinner in June! This event was an auction item from our 2021 Take A Bite Out of Hunger auction to support our Rooftop Roots program and enjoy dinner and drinks in the Food Bank’s rooftop garden.

Thank you to Cameron Catering for the providing a delicious summer menu and to Skip Tognetti of Letterpress Distilling for crafting a signature cocktail called “Paper Plane” with Letterpress Amaro, 2BAR Spirts Bourbon, Aperol, and lemon juice. Letterpress and 2BAR are also auction donors and we thank them for their ongoing support! 

Additionally, Sommelier Lee Spires provided wine for the evening including Miraval Rose, Rotation Chardonnay, Sparkman Sauvignon Blanc, and Chateau Grand Village Bordeaux.

Solstice Dinner Menu by Cameron Catering

Passed Appetizers: 

  • Endive Spear filled with Goat Cheese Mousse and Balsamic Strawberry Relish 
  • Pepita-Crusted Chicken Skewer 
  • Bing Cherry, Jalapeño and Lime Pico de Gallo
  • Polenta Cakes Topped with Romesco and a Smoky Grilled Prawn  

Buffet Dinner: 

  • Garlic-Roasted Chicken Topped with Spring Pea Pesto and Crispy Pancetta  
  • Seasonal Quinoa Vegetable Cakes – roasted vegetable and quinoa cakes served with basil aioli 
  • Spring Salad of Garden Greens and Rainbow Chard with Cherry Belle Radish, Snap Peas, Buttermilk and Garlic Chive Dressing 
  • Bull’s Blood Raw Beet Salad with University District Food Bank Spring Herbs, Toasted Almonds, and Sesame
  • Rolls and Butter  

Family Style Desserts:   

  • Chef’s Selection of Petite Desserts 
  • Miniature Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp 
  • Flourless Chocolate Cake
  • Lemoncello Madeleine

Meet Lena our Food Access Program Coordinator

Lena Kabeshita is one of the Food Bank’s three new team members who came to us through our partnership with AmeriCorps. She joined us in October 2021 to manage our two satellite pantries at North Seattle College and Mercy Magnuson and is such an important part of the work we do for the north Seattle community!

Originally from Illinois, Lena was living and interning in Yakima before coming to Seattle. She is a recent college graduate with a major in soil and crop science and a minor in women and gender studies. 

What is your role at the Food Bank?

I am the Pantry Program Coordinator and I manage our two offsite pantries – North Seattle College on Tuesday nights and Mercy Magnuson place on Wednesday afternoons. I’m responsible for ordering food for the pantries, bringing the food over to each pantry and making sure they are running smoothly. I also coordinate 8-12 volunteers per week to help run the pantries.

Why were these satellite pantries created?

The satellite pantries pre-date the pandemic and were created to serve areas of need in North Seattle where there’s not a food bank nearby or affordable grocery stores. The North Seattle College Pantry was intended to support food insecure students at the college, but it has expanded beyond the student community and grown overall to fill a need among additional North Seattle households. In January 2022 we served 50 student households, 9 staff households, and 98 community member households. 

We purchase food specifically for these pantries each week, then set up and break down on Tuesdays and Wednesdays but each runs a little differently. North Seattle College offers prepacked food in bags and then shoppers choose their protein with a drive-through and walk-up service style. Magnuson is more of a shopping model where guests walk through and choose what they want for the week.

How many families do you serve per week? 

In January at Magnuson we served 320 households for the month and in North Seattle we served 229 households for the month. I want to give a big shout out to the volunteers who dedicate time each week to support these pantries. Their work is invaluable, and I couldn’t operate without them!

One of our regular volunteers at our Magnuson pantry passed away in February. His name was John Tuttle and he had been volunteering at Magnuson for the last year. I want to thank him for all his hard work and dedication to our cause, he will be missed by all of us.

Help Us Grow the Food Bank Community in 2022!

We couldn’t serve the families of Northeast Seattle without the support of the University District Food Bank’s amazing volunteers and donors! We have so many incredible people donating money, volunteering their time to help at the Food Bank, organizing community drives and helping to plan events like our Fall auction and more.
 
Even with all of this help every year we have people who move away, donate to a different cause or just get busy and no longer have the time to spend with us. To keep our community strong we’re asking you to join us in 2022 and help us grow!
 
Here’s few easy ways to help:

  1. Sign up for our e-newsletters at udistrictfoodbank.org and share our next one with three friends, encouraging them to sign up as well and stay connected
  2. Text three people and ask them to join you in volunteering or donating any monetary amount they can this year
  3. Post on Instagram and Facebook about getting involved, donating or attending one of our upcoming events

All of this helps to spread the word and grow our reach in the community so we may continue to operate and help more families!