About
us
The Cashmere Food Bank is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation located in Cashmere, WA that gives food free of charge to those in need. We currently distribute about 100 large boxes of food twice per month.
For details on food distribution and answers to frequently asked questions please see our Food Assistance page.
The Cashmere Food Bank is a true community effort. It serves our neighbors when they need food with dignity, respect, and compassion. It thrives because of the generosity and community spirit of local individuals, organizations, churches, and businesses. It relies on an all-volunteer staff to run not only its distribution but also its administrative and planning operations. Although the location and schedule of the food bank have changed throughout the years our mission remains the same: to eliminate hunger in the community by providing nutritious food that is free to all people seeking assistance. We connect people in need to community resources by bringing together our volunteers and community partners in business, faith, and education.
FOUNDED IN
the 1970s
The current food bank had its beginnings in the 1970s as an outreach project of the local Catholic Church.
Helping Families
We currently distribute about 60 large boxes of food every two weeks to families.
a community effort
The generosity and support of the community has and continues to be the driving force for the food bank’s success.
Making sure our neighbors have food on their tables has been a long-standing tradition in the Cashmere community. For many years, holiday food baskets were provided by local citizens and clubs to those in need. The current food bank had its beginnings in the 1970s as an outreach project of the local Catholic Church. That project evolved into a ministerial association of several churches that gave out food on an emergency basis. Two individuals who made outstanding personal contributions to the food bank in those years were Pete and Pam McNulty (now Leighton). Pete was volunteering as the food bank director when Pam began volunteering in the late 1980s. They were later married and continued to work together to organize food bank operations. When Pete passed away in 2001 Pam became the director and she has now been serving the Cashmere Food Bank for over 30 years!
In 2014, the food bank incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit and created a board of directors to oversee operations and planning. The food bank started regular distribution days out of the Methodist Church while continuing to store food off site. In 2018, the food bank began distributing food directly from the storage location on Railroad Avenue. In April 2020 due to COVID and the significant increase in demand, the distribution was temporarily relocated to the parking lot at Vale Elementary and the National Guard started assisting with distribution. Then, in August 2020, operations moved to Riverside Park. In June 2021 the food bank began operating out of their new location at 316 River Street.
Throughout the years the greater Cashmere community has donated thousands of pounds of food to the food bank through holiday donation bags at Martin’s IGA, gleaning from the generous farmers at the Cashmere Community Farmers Market, "Stuff the Bus" food drives, and many collections from local churches, service clubs, and schools. The generosity and support of the community has and continues to be the driving force for the food bank’s success.
