Donation of $150,000 gives FISH big boost

Since the beginning, FISH’s mission has stayed the same: to serve the community with emergency food.

But from the launch of the nonprofit in an Arnada-neighborhood garage in 1969 to more recently, when it moved into its own 6,000-square-foot warehouse building, FISH has evolved.

On Friday, with the help of a $150,000 donation from C.E. John Family, it took another huge stride.

“It’s an overwhelming experience when someone is so generous,” said Betty Sue Morris, FISH development committee chair.

The money will help FISH, long powered by volunteers, hire its first staff person and also help retire the capital debt the food pantry owes on its building. Morris said the nonprofit is hoping to match the $150,000 contribution through fundraising efforts.

The money will help FISH move “forward into financial sustainability,” Morris said.

“So we can continue to feed hungry people; there are a lot of them,” she said.

In 2014-15, those who received help from FISH were nearly 30 percent children and 18 percent elderly, according to information from the nonprofit.

Each year, FISH serves more than 25,000 households.

In 2014, the food pantry gave out 789,558 pounds of food to 65,383 people. That compares to a clientele of about 47,000 in 2010. The statistics compiled by the Clark County Food Bank state that FISH serves more households than any other pantry in the county.

“The issue right now has to do with how much money people have to spend on food, shelter and clothing,” Morris said. “You see homeless people on the street, because they can’t do both.”

Volunteers often gather at the food pantry at 9 a.m. to pick up the food, sort it and distribute it. By 10 a.m., families are often lined up waiting for emergency food. And by the end of the service day, at 3 p.m., nearly 2,000 pounds of food has been given out, according to information from the nonprofit.

“Our volunteers have been keeping people fed for decades, and they are the heart of the whole operation,” Morris said.

“Honestly, it hurts my heart,” she said. “I think it’s tragic we have hungry people in this county and people without homes.”

Mark Osborne, with C.E. John Family and a FISH board member, said he hopes the donation inspires others to come forward and give to FISH.

“I am hoping that this will turn into a story to somehow urge other families and donors to consider FISH — where we came from, where we are, and where we want to be,” he said in an email.

This report includes information from The Columbian archives