Each year hundreds of families in our community celebrate the birth of a new child and experience the joy of bringing home a new bundle of

hope.But for an ever increasing percentage of new parents, that joy is marred by stress and fear as they find their scant resources are

inadequate to meet their new infant’s essential needs.

 

In 2006, families with nearly 7,500 infants under the age of 2 sought assistance from Whatcom County food banks but,unfortunately, found little

there to meet the basic needs of their hungry babies. While Whatcom county organizations and businesses have been very generous, donating

15,000-20,000 pounds of food each week, few donors are aware that very little of this food can be consumed by infants. Most donations consist of

canned goods not suitable for infant diets.

 

The items most needed include: powdered infant formulas, beginner’s jars of baby food, and juices. Mike Cohen,Executive Director of the Bellingham

Food Bank, estimates that 750 units of these items are needed every month merely to meet the local need. The Food 4 Tots program, which was created

by the 2007-2008 class of Leadership Whatcom, was designed as an easy and efficient means to connect the generosity of local organizations and

businesses with the proven track record of the Bellingham Food Bank in order to meet this need. We are currently seeking community partners willing to challenge their associates and employees to hold an annual one month baby food drive in their workplace. It’s simple to volunteer. A complete donor kit with step by step instructions, and advice for launching a successful campaign can be accessed at the “donor kit” link at the bottom of this

message. All donations of food and cash are tax deductible.

Feeding Hungry Little tummies

CORPORATE DONORS

BELLINGHAM CENTRAL LIONS CLUB

BELLINGHAM WALL-MART