PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners approved the distribution of nearly $1.9 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to bolster food availability.
The three commissioners voted unanimously to give American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to food banks in Port Angeles and Forks, as well as the Sequim Open Aire Market, and the food program of the West Olympic Peninsula Betterment Association.
Food banks were among the hardest-hit industries when the COVID-19 pandemic shut the world down because of increased demand, according to county staff.
Clallam County received $15 million in ARPA funds in May 2021 to help county industries and residents recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 virus and shutdowns.
Commissioners originally set aside $700,000 in ARPA funds for food banks. That amount was increased to $1.88 million in July.
Each program applied for grants of ARPA funds from Clallam County.
The Port Angeles Food Bank’s executive director, Emily Dexter, requested close to $1.35 million to support the renovation of its new distribution facility on North Oakridge Drive as well as to maintain staff retention.
Renovations include creating a 2,000 square-foot food pantry/market, a 1,800 square-foot commercial processing kitchen, a 2,000 square-foot training workspace, and 4,000 square feet of infrastructure improvements.
During the height of the pandemic, the Port Angeles Food Bank became the redistribution hub for all of the food pantries in Clallam County as well as some in Jefferson County.
The food bank saw a 188 percent increase in the amount of food it received, from 693,000 pounds of food in 2019 to more than 2 million pounds in both 2020 and 2021, the agenda memo said.
“This is really to replace a drive-through model that Port Angeles had to transition to during the pandemic due to the constraints of their previous facility, not being able to provide a safe environment of social distancing… their storage needs got quickly overwhelmed by all the additional food that was coming into the county,” said Mark Lane, Clallam County Chief Financial Officer.
Switching to the drive-through model from the market shopping model, increased staffing needs for the food bank. The food bank went from just three full-time employees to six, doubling its payroll from $125,000 to $256,000, the memo said.
Another impact on employee retention was the decision to extend food bank hours to allow more convenient pickup times.
The Port Angeles Food Bank will put $1.3 million toward the renovations and $48,000 going into additional payroll as it returns to a market shopping model.
Forks Community Food Bank requested $105,000, with $35,000 for the purchase and installation of a walk-in freezer and the remaining $70,000 for personnel costs.
Like the Port Angeles Food Bank, the Forks food bank also saw a dramatic increase in customers and was overwhelmed, commissioners were told.
The 13 standard household freezers/refrigerators for cold storage at its facility are beginning to fail due to age, according to the grant application.
The Forks food bank has gone so far as to ask community members to store food at their homes rather than have to turn down food contributions.
It also expanded its hours, The food bank is setting aside $70,000 to address incremental personnel costs.
The West Olympic Peninsula Betterment Association, based in Forks, requested $18,000 to help fund its 5000 Food Program, which helps families dealing with food insecurity.
The pandemic pushed meal deliveries from 48 per week to over 200 weekly.
The $18,000 will go toward the purchase and storage of food, preparation of meals, onsite meals service, distribution of personal protection equipment and sanitation products as well as packaging and food delivery materials.
The Sequim Open Aire Market requested $4,500 for its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infant and Children (WIC) match programs.
Most of the funds — $3,000 — will go to the SNAP match program, with the remaining $1,500 is for senior and WIC programs.
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Reporter Ken Park can be reached at kpark@peninsuladailynews.com.
