Whatcom Human Rights Task Force

Birchwood Food Desert Fighters distributes roughly 1 to 1.5 tons of food and supplies out to the community every week free of charge. Our mutual aid project gets fresh produce, homestyle meals and more out to 100-150 households a week. After 8 years of fanagling all of our food and supply pickups and deliveries with 2-4 cars every week, Birchwood Food Desert Fighters is finally getting a truck! Ferndale Food bank is updating it's fleet and they have generously donated their extra vehicle. We are hoping to raise enough funds to cover insurance, tabs, a paint job/letter removal, gas, and regular maintenance.

Here's a breakdown of our estimated costs:

$2000 insurance

$175 tabs

$300 lettering removal

$600 gas ($100/ mo gas x 6 months)

$200 spray paint to redecorate truck

$1000 maintenance fund

$300 credit/debit/transaction fees

Anything extra raised will be used to purchase more food for the community during the off season when we are not receiving produce donations from local farms.

Birchwood Food Desert Fighters, a branch of the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force, is a group of neighbors and allies working to address the food desert created in the Birchwood neighborhood when the Park Manor Albertsons closed in May of 2016. Our neighborhood is suffering from the lack of a nearby affordable grocery store and we say enough! We work to raise awareness of food desert issues in our community, to pressure Albertsons to release the noncompete clauses on it's former space (in effect until 2042!) that prevent another grocer from opening, and to promote greater food access and a sense of community by organizing food and garden sharing networks, community forums, and working together for a sustainable, culturally appropriate community-based solutions. One of our major goals is to help meet immediate food needs in the neighborhood through weekly food distributions and 8 community food share boxes. Everyone is welcome and no one is turned away.

Last year, we distributed a record 74000 pounds of food at our weekly Saturday Share Spot, primarily thanks to donations from small local farms.; but during the off season, we rely primarily on food recovery programs and we receive very few donations from farms. That means that we have to purchase additional fresh produce and eggs to ensure that there is enough food for all. We have roughly 10 weeks to go until we start receiving farm donations again and funds are running low. We are reaching out to the community to support this long-running mutual aid project. Current produce costs each week are $250-$350, and eggs are $220-$360 every other week, but prices are going up.

Your solidarity gift will help ensure that we have good, quality food to share with one another, and that there will be enough for all. Many many thanks!