Eloise's Cooking Pot Food Bank

🌟 Volunteer Spotlight 🌟

Meet Carmelita, our incredible volunteer who has been with us since 2022! 🌱🍎 At 82 years young, Carmelita started by passing out cat and dog food and now helps distribute fresh produce to our community. In her spare time, she delights us all by cooking delicious egg rolls for fellow volunteers and ECP employees. Thank you, Carmelita, for your unwavering dedication and kindness! 💚

‼️Last minute announcement!‼️

Our warehouse is moving and we need to transition to the new space. For that reason, we will not be offering our drive-thru grocery service 7/24 and 7/31. Instead we will offer extended hours at the food bank on those two days from 9:30am - 5pm. The drive-thru will resume on 8/7 at the Tacoma Dome Lot A. will also be joining us when we come back to the Tacoma Dome on 8/7.

At Making A Difference Foundation, we do more than just provide food. We believe that hunger and poverty are systemic issues that require comprehensive solutions. That’s why we partner with Tacomaprobono Community Lawyers to offer free legal aid to our clients, addressing the root causes of hunger and paving the way for lasting change. Together, we’re not just feeding bodies, but also empowering lives.

Tacomaprobono will be at our drive-thru tomorrow 7/24 and next 8/7 from 9-11am

‼️NEW LOCATION for Free Grocery Giveaway Drive-Thru Service‼️

For the next 3️⃣ weeks we will be slightly moving our location from Lot G to Lot A of the Tacoma Dome.

Please enter off of East D St. where the front of the line will be to the left as you enter.

Thank you so much for helping us make a difference in delivering food on base.

Make you own Tajin Seasoning- save your lime peel 🍋‍🟩

We have the great privilege of serving all of you through the food bank, drive-thru service, and deliveries. How have you been impacted by us? Do you have any suggestions for the improvement of our services? Click this link to take our survey and make your voice heard!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JVBYLRF

Make these delicious bread without oven

Our volunteers and staff are hard at work packing the dry goods boxes you receive at our free grocery giveaway and through delivery!

Do you need food or want to help feed your community? Use this link to join our deliveries waitlist or sign up to volunteer!

https://linktr.ee/madfseattle

See you tomorrow for our free food distribution at the Tacoma Dome. Lot G. Nothing Required. Everyone welcome. Share post

🌟 Today is Social Media Giving Day! 🌟 Join us in making a real difference by supporting the Making a Difference Foundation. Whether you can donate money, volunteer your time, or share fresh produce from your garden, every bit helps us continue our mission to bring positive change and support to those who need it most. 🙏❤️

📲 Click the link to donate or sign up to volunteer. Let’s come together and show the power of community! 💪✨

https://linktr.ee/madfseattle?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYi2ff_rkcd2qBdqnjlGcDAN99IEowmjGriQt00o7thNYzjog2kKosMVpk_aem_BT7UTEbv-bpft3oz6zL-PA

Great news! Eligible school-age children in Washington can get — $120 per child in grocery benefits during the summer. Together, these benefits help fuel children during the summer months when school is out. Learn more & find out if you are eligible at www.dshs.wa.gov/sunbucks

Happy Birthday Council member Catherine Ushkas. Thank you for your service to the Eastside. We miss you!

During the summer, childhood hunger is a real issue as many kids lose access to school meals. Eloise’s Cooking Pot is making a difference by welcoming donations of fresh produce from local farms and home gardeners directly to the food bank. Let's come together to help make sure every child has enough to eat! 🌽🍅🥬🥕

Today is National Rainier Cherry Day, marking the peak of the Rainier cherry harvest for our state’s growers.

The Rainier cherry dates back to 1952, when Dr. Harold W. Fogle, a researcher at Washington State University, crossed the Bing and Van varieties to create the Rainier. It has been grown commercially since 1960.

What is your favorite use of Rainier cherries? Leave it in the comments, and feel free to leave a link to a recipe.

📢 Client Recipe! 📢

One of our clients made the most of the extra ripe bananas she got shopping at ECP and made banana jam! 🍌

We love seeing what you all do with the food from ECP! So if you feel inspired by an ingredient you find at Eloise’s message us a picture and the recipe so we can share your creation with everyone else!

Free food gives away at the the Tacoma Dome to Wednesday 10-3pm. Free Legal services provided Tacoma Probono 9-11am. Everyone is welcome. Nothing required. Share post!

Meet Sheila, a dedicated volunteer whose journey of service began in her teens. After 28 years as a flight nurse in the military, followed by a stint at Seattle King County Public Health, Sheila retired but didn’t slow down. Inspired by a line of people waiting for food at Eloise’s Cooking Pot, she started volunteering in 2018. Sheila’s role involves rescuing perfectly edible food from grocery stores that would otherwise go to waste and delivering it to ECP to provide food for those in need. Her commitment to reducing food waste and helping her community is truly inspiring!

Happy Birthday to A’tienne, our food bank manager!

Happy Birthday To James!

Happy Saturday! Starbuck product are available today at the food bank. Nothing Required! Everyone is welcome! 3543 E. Mckinley Tacoma Wa.

The NW region has a heat advisory for today through Tuesday. Temperatures are expected to reach the mid 90s ☀️🥵

If you plan to spend time outside and pack a meal to go here are some food safety tips for storing and transporting your food 🧺

Or stay cool and out of the heat by going to an open library, community center, or other publicly accessible facility (such as the mall, movies, or public pool/splash pad).

Kale Chip Recipe below! 🌱⬇️

We’ve been getting a lot of kale from Early Bird Farm. If you need an easy and delicious recipe to get rid of your kale look no further!

Ingredients:
Kale
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Other favorite spices

Instructions:
De-stem kale, rip into ~4in pieces, pour oil over kale leaves, massage kale and oil until all kale is softer to touch and fully coated. Add spices to kale and mix so all leaves are coated evenly. Put kale into cold oven and turn on to heat to 350. Once oven is at 350 set timer for 5 minutes. Turn off your oven after 5 minutes but keep the kale inside the cooling oven to crisp up (usually about 15-20 min but keep them in longer if the kale doesn’t crisp)

🎆Happy Independence Day!🎇 In celebration, all of our services are closed today. ECP will be back open tomorrow during our regular hours 10am - 4pm

🌞☀️ As temperatures soar in Tacoma this weekend, our Neighborhood and Community Services Department is committed to ensuring the well-being of our unsheltered community members. Starting July 5, outreach teams and volunteers will provide water, masks, and crucial information about cooling centers and shelters. For more information, visit cityoftacoma.org/InclementResources.

To learn more, visit https://www.cityoftacoma.org/in_the_news/residents_encouraged_to_prepare_as_temperatures_rise

Tacoma Police Department Tacoma Fire Department

What you can do with the shrimp from ECP?

Free Food Giveaway! Our drive through service from Friday 10-3pm at 3543 E. Mckinley (west bound on morton street). Nothing Required! Share Post!