Non-profit says students’ need for food support has increased in past two months

Demand for food support among Tumwater students has increased in the past two months, Sierra Abrams of the non-profit TOGETHER! told Tumwater City Council.

Abrams, director of TOGETHER!’s Community Schools Program, gave an update about their recent accomplishments to Tumwater City Council on Wednesday, October 25, when this issue was discussed.

TOGETHER! has resource centers across eight schools under the Tumwater School District. Through the organization’s Community Schools Program, students could visit these resource centers to receive support to succeed in school.

One way the program supports students is through food assistance, so Councilmember Angela Jefferson asked a few questions about this part of the program and if the need for food assistance was increasing in Tumwater.

“I would say [the need] is increasing dramatically,” Abrams told Jefferson. “A big shift that happened maybe in the past two months, there was a drop off in like EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) support and so we were encountering a lot of families who went from getting a few $100 every month to getting like $50 a month in their EBT card.  That has really made the need for foods skyrocket in the community that we're seeing.”

Abrams explained that based on her understanding, the reduction in relief support was due to the expiration of emergency funding for COVID-19.

Abrams was reporting to the city council as TOGETHER! received $100,000 from Tumwater in December 2022 to help with the funding of its Community Schools Program.

Among their accomplishments for the school year of 2022 to 2023 was to establish a full-time staff member at Cascadia High School. They also have resource centers in Michael T. Simmons Elementary, Peter G. Schmidt Elementary, East Olympia Elementary, Tumwater Hill Elementary, Tumwater Middle School, Tumwater High School, and Black Hills High School.

The non-profit managed 237 long-term cases for the previous school year. It also distributed $110,000 in assistance funds, which were given as rental assistance or to support other basic needs like car repair and food support.

TOGETHER! also held various community events open to the entire county. These events allowed the group to distribute 198 Thanksgiving boxes, offer physical examinations to 81 individuals, and administer immunization to 50 students.

Tumwater committee recommends the distribution of $15,000 in funds for local organizations

Earlier this week, the Tumwater Budget & Finance Committee also decided to distribute a $15,000 fund to support local organizations that service the city.

The committee finalized its recommendations to the city council on Monday, October 23, dividing the fund among eight organizations.

SafePlace was allocated $2,605, which would be used to provide fuel cards and mechanical repairs to survivors of sexual and domestic violence, as well as gift cards for Tumwater youth.

ASHHO Cultural & Job Training Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Washington, and Tumwater Education Foundation would each receive $2,175. ASHHO would use the fund to host an event that connects people to various resources.

For Big Brothers Big Sisters, they would use the fund to expand its mentoring program for Tumwater schools. Tumwater Education Foundation proposed that its requested funding would be given to Tumwater school principals for their emergency funds.

Family Support Center of South Sound and Garden-Raised Bounty would also receive funding for $1,740. Family Support Center would put the fund towards its Family Resource Services program to support families with housing-related issues and other basic needs.

The other organization would use the fund for its Garden Project, which provides low-income households the resources to grow their own food.

Rebuilding Together Thurston County was also allocated $1,305 to repair a specific manufactured home in Tumwater. Lastly, Medical Equipment Bank was given $1,085 to acquire batteries for motorized wheelchairs and scooters.

The $15,000 fund is part of the city’s Community Human Services Program, which helps fund organizations that provide human services to Tumwater residents.