Neighbors Helping Neighbors Needs Its Neighbors
For 40 years, Ridgefield's food bank has quietly fed families from Ridgefield to Salmon Creek. With grocery prices climbing, more people are coming through the door, and Thanksgiving is almost here. Here's how to help.
I ran into Judy Chipman this week. You may know her as Ridgefield's Mayor Pro Tem, but she also serves on the board of Neighbors Helping Neighbors, our local food bank. She handed me a brochure and told me something I haven't stopped thinking about: things are getting tough.
Grocery prices are pushing more families to ask for help, and more food boxes are going out the door than usual. That's a lot of neighbors, and it's happening right before the holidays, when the need is usually at its highest anyway.
The Details
Forty years of feeding Ridgefield
Neighbors Helping Neighbors has been working to end hunger in our community for 40 years. It runs on volunteers, donations from local residents, and support from partners like Green Bag Ridgefield, the Clark County Food Bank and Rosauers Supermarkets.
Every week, families can pick up food baskets with shelf-stable groceries, fresh produce, frozen and refrigerated food, and bulk dry goods. They can also get household staples that food assistance doesn't cover, like dish soap, toilet paper and paper towels. Clothing is available too.
And every holiday season, the food bank hands out holiday boxes with turkeys, produce and traditional holiday foods, plus gift bags for the families it serves.
Where your money actually goes
Canned food drives are great, but money stretches furthest at a food bank. Neighbors Helping Neighbors uses cash donations to buy food. It also uses them for the costs nobody thinks about:
How you can help
Give online
Neighbors Helping Neighbors now takes donations through PayPal and Venmo. Find the links at nhnridgefield.org. Any amount, small or large, is welcome.
Mail a check
Send it to Neighbors Helping Neighbors, PO Box 789, Ridgefield, WA 98642. It's a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so you'll get a tax-deductible receipt in the mail.
Become a monthly giver
This is the ask I'd underline. The food bank is looking for neighbors who will give on a regular, continuing basis, through PayPal or by mail. A steady $10 or $20 a month helps them plan for the busy months instead of scrambling.
Help with Thanksgiving
With holiday boxes going out soon, now is the time to give. Call 360-887-3354 to ask what they still need for the Thanksgiving boxes, or put a donation toward turkeys.
Fill a Green Bag
The Green Bag Project makes food donations easy: fill a bag with groceries, leave it on your doorstep, and volunteers pick it up. Food goes to Neighbors Helping Neighbors and the Ridgefield Family Resource Center.
Donate clothes and household items
Neighbors Helping Neighbors accepts clothing and small household and kitchen items. They can't take furniture or large appliances. Call first before bringing a big load.
Volunteer
The food bank runs on volunteers. Call 360-887-3354 to ask about Tuesday shifts, especially in the weeks before Thanksgiving.
Quick questions, quick answers
Who can get food?
The food bank serves residents of Ridgefield, La Center, Felida and Salmon Creek. Call 360-887-3354 to ask what to bring.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Yes. Neighbors Helping Neighbors is a 501(c)(3), and donors get a receipt in the mail.
What's the best thing to give?
Money goes furthest, and monthly gifts help most. If you'd rather give food, the Green Bag Project is the easiest way.
Can I drop off furniture?
No. Clothing and small household and kitchen items only.
More from Meanwhile in Ridgefield
The name says it all. If you're able, this is a good month to be a neighbor helping a neighbor. Thanks to Judy and everyone at Neighbors Helping Neighbors for 40 years of showing up.
