Northshore Interact host community food drive to benefit Woodinville Storehouse

Northshore Interact is a high school service organization aiming to teach students in grades 9 through 12 lifelong leadership skills. The Rotary Club of Woodinville sponsors the club and is also a part of Rotary International. Northshore Interact develops projects that have a humanitarian impact on the community.

Recently, this collaborative team of high school students organized and hosted a St. Patrick's Day Food Drive that proved to be a very successful event. The food drive took place on March 18 from noon to 3 p.m. The food drive was located at the Sammamish Valley Grange in Woodinville. The event was a service opportunity for the team and the community and a place to meet new people and form connections.

For this event, Northshore Interact partnered with the Woodinville Storehouse, a food bank in Woodinville that provides those in need with nutritious food weekly. Although food banks are a popular donation location during the holiday season, their supplies drop significantly after this period. The Northshore Interact Food Drive was intended to help replenish their shelves.

In addition to collecting donations at the event, donation boxes were hosted at hotspot locations around Woodinville until March 26. These locations included Woodinville Rotary morning meetings, Maltby Cafe, Sidekick Coffee, Heritage, Tarte, and Banner Bank. Northshore Interact is thankful for the support of these community partners and the generous donations from the public.

The community involvement in this food drive didn't end there. Susan Webster hosted a "Sewing for the Food Bank" pop-up event, and the Gathering Fabric Quilt Community stepped up with several donations. Also, Rotary District 5030 approved a 2 -or-1 community grant matching contributions from the Northshore Rotaract and Northshore Interact Clubs, resulting in a $1,500 check for the Storehouse. Lastly, personal and club monetary donations were received on behalf of the food bank.

Bailey Schwartz, a Co-President for Northshore Interact, states, "What a successful drive, and we are so thankful for all the support from Woodinville Rotary and the entire Tri-Club family. A big thank you for the opportunity to positively impact the community."

The St. Patrick's Day Food Drive was a great success as the Woodinville Storehouse received over 1,200 food donations and more than $2,000 in monetary donations. The event also bridged gaps between the community of business owners and organizations such as Northshore Interact to support one common goal. Together the community can address food insecurity and help ensure that every person has access to enough food to live a healthy, active life.

Check out the Northshore Interact website to learn more about Northshore Interact, attend their events, or join the team.