Waitsburg Food Bank Gets Big Check

WAITSBURG - Waits- burg's American West Bank made a donation that will keep a lot of neighbors fed during the winter months, giving a whopping $1,600 to the Waitsburg Resource Cen- ter, the biggest donation the bank has given to the local resource center to date.

American West Bank Branch Manager Andie Holmberg said the bank tries to make a donation to the food bank every year.

At the corporate level, the American West Bank allocates funding as part of their community reinvest- ment act, Holmberg said. The company determines which communities need the funding and donate accordingly.

"I just asked for $100 and it turned into this," Holmberg said.

An American West Bank officer in Spokane tracks what the company can do- nate to causes like the re- source center, Holmberg said. The officer also tracks income and need levels in the different communities and determines where more of the funding should go.

Holmberg said she was overwhelmed when she found out the company would be donating such a substantial fund to the resource center.

Pastor Mike Ferrians, one of the administrators oversee- ing the resource center, said the community is lucky to have the Waitsburg Resource Center supporting neighbors who are food insecure.

"We've received a lot of gifts from the bank," Ferrians said. "This is the biggest cash gift from the bank."

Because the donation is so substantial for the resource center, Ferrians said they will also be able to afford to give recipients of Christmas baskets from the food bank a gift certificate for the Waitsburg Grocery Store.

Funds remaining after Christmas baskets are given out will go into the Waitsburg ministerial general fund to help with heating bills, rent, food and emergency funds for those in need.

Ferrians said the resource center has been sharing a building with the bank branch for two years. In its previous location, the resource center couldn't receive any govern- ment subsidies because the office wasn't wheelchair ac- cessible, Holmberg said.

Holmberg said she is happy to have the resource center in Waitsburg because members of the community know when they are hard- pressed for resources, they have someplace to go.