ELOISE’S COOKING POT FOOD BANK- UPDATE

We understand that many of our home delivery clients are unable to leave their homes due to health challenges, disabilities, transportation barriers, or other circumstances.

We want to remind you that Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank allows individuals to pick up food on behalf of someone else!

This means that a trusted family member, friend, neighbor, caregiver, or another person you know can visit our food bank or Tacoma Dome distribution and pick up food for you.

You do not have to be physically present to receive assistance through someone picking up food on your behalf.

This may be a wonderful alternative for you while we continue working to improve our home delivery program.

If you know someone who is willing to help, please consider asking them to pick up fresh produce, milk, eggs, and other available food items for you.

We believe that neighbors helping neighbors is one of the most powerful ways we can strengthen our community.

We want to be transparent about the challenges we are facing.

Currently, we are working to provide food deliveries to approximately 4,000–6,000 households each week, with an additional 2,000 households on our waiting list.

The demand for home delivery continues to grow, and we recognize how important this service is, particularly for our seniors, individuals with disabilities, homebound clients, and families experiencing transportation barriers.

Our immediate priority is to strengthen our current delivery system so that every active home delivery client can consistently receive at least one non-perishable food box every other week.

We recognize that some clients have experienced missed deliveries, delays, inconsistent schedules, and other challenges. We sincerely apologize for these difficulties.

We understand that you depend on us, and we take that responsibility seriously.

We are actively working on several improvements, including:

• Hiring a dedicated Home Delivery Coordinator to oversee and improve the program.
• Strengthening delivery schedules and communication with clients.
• Improving the consistency and reliability of our every-other-week deliveries.
• Exploring safe transportation options for fresh and perishable foods.
• Reviewing our delivery routes, staffing, and operational capacity to better serve our clients.

Our goal is to have significant improvements in place by the end of 2026.

While we cannot guarantee that every challenge will be resolved by then, please know that our staff is working tirelessly toward that goal.

We know that many of you have been patiently waiting to begin receiving home deliveries, and we want to provide some clarity regarding your status.

If you have signed up for home delivery within the past six months and have not yet begun receiving deliveries, please understand that you are currently on our waiting list.

We recognize that some of you have been waiting for several months, and we sincerely appreciate your patience.

At this time, we are unable to add new households to our home delivery program because we must first stabilize and improve services for the clients we are currently serving.

Our hope is to begin adding households from our waiting list during 2027, as our delivery capacity, staffing, and resources improve.

We want to emphasize that this is our goal, not a guaranteed start date. We will continue evaluating our capacity and will keep you updated as we make progress and begin accepting additional households.

You have not been forgotten. We recognize your need for food assistance, and we are working diligently to expand our services so that we can reach more families.

In the meantime, we strongly encourage you to explore our food bank, Tacoma Dome distributions, or other community food assistance programs to help meet your immediate needs.

Remember, someone else can pick up food for you! If you are unable to travel to our locations, please consider asking a trusted friend, neighbor, family member, or caregiver to assist you. We welcome individuals who are picking up food for others because we understand that not everyone can come to us in person.

At Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank, our mission has always been to make a difference in people’s lives, one person at a time.

You are not just a number, a delivery address, or a name on a list. You are part of our Eloise’s Cooking Pot family.

We know that food insecurity is real. We know that many of you are making difficult decisions every day, and we understand that a dependable food delivery can make an enormous difference in your life.

We hear your concerns. We recognize our shortcomings. And we are committed to doing better.

We ask for your continued patience and understanding as we work through these challenges.

Thank you for trusting us to be one of your food providers. Thank you for believing in our mission. Most importantly, thank you for allowing us the opportunity to serve you.

If you have questions or concerns regarding your home delivery, please contact us:

Phone: 253-212-2778
Email: info@themadfseattle.org

With sincere appreciation and gratitude,

The Staff of Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank
Making A Difference Foundation

“Making a difference in people’s lives, one person at a time.”