Heroes Honored for Fighting Hunger In Pierce County

It was a morning for gratitude.

Some of the region’s most generous citizens and corporations were honored – and applauded by a packed room of business owners, elected officials and their fellow citizens – Wednesday morning at the Emergency Food Network’s annual recognition breakfast.

The ceremony, held at the University of Puget Sound, was designed to honor those who have significantly affected the fight against hunger in Pierce County. In 2010, 147,000 children, seniors and adults in the county sought food from the Emergency Food Network’s $18.5 million in reserves.

“It’s a system of generosity,” said Helen McGovern, executive director of the Emergency Food Network and the recent recipient of the Wells Fargo Champion Award, which honors a person older than 50 who has started a new career.

The 2011 Silver Spoon Awards were presented to REI; Lakes FISH Food Bank; the Exchange Club of Tacoma; LeMay Pierce County, Refuse DM Disposal, Division of Waste Connections; the Thompson Foundation; and Cindy Salazar and the Lakewood Police Department.

The award was named for John Schultz, the former director of St. Leo’s Food Connection who passed away in 2002. It is presented to those who donate their time, talents or resources to help the Emergency Food Network fulfill its mission of “providing a reliable food supply so that no person in Pierce County goes hungry.”

McGovern said that the Fallen Officers Food Drive, the inaugural event held on the one-year anniversary of the fatal shootings of four Lakewood Police officers, was organized at the last minute, but resulted in something remarkable: $31,340 in donations and 24,000 pounds of food collected on Nov. 29.

“What they did in one day – one day only – has never been seen by EFN,” she said.

Salazar, the wife of Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar, was the driving force behind the effort.

“It means a lot,” she said. “We just needed to turn around and do something positive. It was a bit last-minute, but it’s not that shocking when you consider what the community did for the department after the tragedy … We’re so lucky.”

Lakewood Mayor Doug Richardson, who attended the breakfast, said that he was proud that both the people of Lakewood and the city itself have such longtime ties to the Emergency Food Network.

“It’s significant,” he said. “I’m very proud. In addition to being the basketball capital of the state, we’re also the Emergency Food Network capital.”

McGovern spoke of Lakes FISH having fed 4,869 people between January and February 2010 at its tiny food bank at Little Church on the Prairie. Over the same time period in 2011, food was handed out to 9,599 people at its new location at the United Methodist Church, also in Lakewood. That’s an increase of 97 percent, she said proudly.

She also commended LeMay for always being the first to call and ask what they can do to help.

“What they do is pretty remarkable,” she said.

In accepting their award, Charlie Maxwell said that the company is no stranger to the need.

“We see people standing in line for the food banks who used to contribute to those food banks,” he said.

Cindy Thompson, who accepted the award given to her family, felt similarly. The Thompson Foundation was founded after they sold Mountain View Funeral Home.

“It’s unconscionable that in our community, we have hungry people.”

Among the corporate and civic partners recognized for their commitment to fighting hunger were Bank of America; Boeing; Franciscan Health System; Gordon Thomas Honeywell; and Roman Meal.

Mike Hargreaves, owner and manager of the Stadium Thriftway and past board chair of the Emergency Food Network, was honored with the 2011 David P. Ottey Lifetime Achievement Award.

“He played a significant role in what the Emergency Food Network is becoming today,” said Mike Hansch, president of the organization’s board of directors.

In accepting his award, Hargreaves spoke of the “tragedy” of his young grandson not being able to have a banana because they had run out. He said that he couldn’t help but marvel at how fortunate the little boy was to be able to select another snack from the pantry.

“The tragedy in Pierce County that we’re trying to avoid is parents or grandparents having to say ‘I’m sorry, honey, but we don’t have any food today.’ ”