For a while we were so deep in debt we couldn't even afford to eat. And the Food Line was a…read moreblessing. Now that we're not so desperate, I try always to remember what a relief it was to save the extravagant cost of groceries while we struggled, and now I return the favor with what little I can now afford to donate. One never knows when it might be needed again. I never assume I will never end up living under a bridge in old age! No one wants to admit to periods of such poverty, but I was moved to write this review by the bad review someone else left, complaining that so many of the offerings were "expired." This is true, but fact is, supermarkets who donate so much off their shelves basically only give stuff for which the "best used by" date is nearly achieved. This does NOT mean the food is not good; it's just as good as it was the day it was packaged. First, the manufacturers WANT the stores to replace stocks that don't sell with the same stuff, and fact is, expired potato chips or canned beans or soup are still perfectly fine. As for the bread and milk, the Food Line has a big walk-in freezer and they freeze this stuff, thaw it the day it is given to people in need, so the expiration date is meaningless. And the people who work and volunteer at the food bank are simply the nicest folks who make nobody feel like a worthless drain on society for being in need. I kind of love them, anonymous though they remain to me, and I to them. You can get a big box including fresh veggies (and meat if you eat it; I do not), but only once a month. The thawed out bread, however, you can get as often as daily if you need that much. I would grab a couple loaves at least once a week, all sorts of breads, and though often they'd been in the freezer for a bit, that never hurt the bread in the least. The canned goods, and government commodities, all perfectly good stuff. And the oddball stuff donated by the community, that was actually a fun section, you just never knew what someone grabbed out of their cabinet -- nothing wrong with it but might be imported or strange, like canned wheat gluten meat substitute which tastes great despite the sillies who want to eat gluten-free with no health need to do so. The building is very near Olympic College, so a lot of students use the place, besides there being a campus food drive for the kids. This pleases me; our kids and students merit the assistance, even if they are broke only because bought too many costly pizzas. I like to eat WELL, and what you can get at the food bank is heavy on carbs and not gourmet. I am not choosy and when in need it was all great, but when I was back on my feet, I wasn't gonna drop in for stuff I no longer needed, and it was very good to be able to have complete mastery of my diet again. But I always think of the food bank folks with fondness and appreciation. There's a tiny park next to their building. Once a week a hot food wagon parks by it, and this attracts some homeless people, a few students, and generally one or two Native Americans. I realize some folks despise such people for being poor, but I find them interesting to talk to, and I dress raggedy enough to fit in if I'm in the mood to be even a little social. One day I arrived early and the food line wasn't yet open. So I was hanging out in that little park with a K'lamath couple and a homeless white couple, the guy being deeply seriously depressed and babied by his worried girlfriend. The hot food truck arrived. Now I didn't need that food, but I didn't want to put myself apart from the people with whom I'd been sitting around a picnic table. So I got in line. The food was boiled potatoes with salt pepper and butter and very good; some hot green beans which were so-so; and some grey wayyyyy over-cooked chicken (getting mushy on the bone) which I doubt I'd've liked even if I weren't vegetarian. Everyone was eating and happy to do so, so I tried to eat my chicken, truly hating it. One bite was all I could manage. I snuck it into a napkin and snuck it in my jacket pocket, ate just the potatoes and green beans. There was some real camaraderie at at the table, so I did finally tell them that despite my raggedy vintage leather jacket, I had a really great home and probably shouldn't've gotten in line for the food. The Indian couple said, "Us too!" it was no biggie. We talked about all sorts of things then went our separate way. I went into the food bank and grabbed some free bread before heading home. When I got home I took the grey chicken out of my pocket and divided it up for my tiny dogs. They looked at it like I was trying to poison them. Then they decided, what the hell, she wouldn't do that to us, and ate it reluctantly.

I've been volunteering for Children of the Nations in different avenues for several years. I…read morestarted with a meal packaging event in California and now I live here and have more opportunities to help. I also sponsor two children through their organization. A couple times a year there is the opportunity to help at a mailing event where you read letters for the children and stuff envelopes. It's a group event and fun to get together with others. There are also opportunities to help load containers that get sent oversees with supplies, weekly opportunities to volunteer around the campus with yardwork, stuffing envelopes, and office work. There really are endless opportunities for volunteering if you are looking for that and the people are amazing to work with!

What an amazing work this organization serves the people in many countries and helps equip the…read morelocal churches from many different areas to serve and love and help all over the world. I personally went with them to the Dominican republic an area called Barahona... it was an amazing trip and we got to serve many people and I think we also were served by many, One of the greatest things was seeing how happy the people are in the other countries when we expect Many to be sad and beaten down it was a joy to serve and to learn to be joyful.

Ever since Paws at Pleasant Beach opened in Lynwood, my bf and I regulary visit the place. My…read moreboyfriend has never had a pet so i thought visiting Paws would be a great way to ease him into the idea of getting a cat (which it is!). The staff, for the most part, are extremely informative and friendly. Our visits here have definitely made us want to adopt a cat in the future. I do have to warn you, there is a particular staff member (who will remain nameless) that comes off as extremely unwelcoming and rude. During our most recent visit, she didn't greet us at all but said, "Let me guess...you're just here to play with the cats." She then lectures us and even gave me attitude for giving her eye contact. We didn't stay too long after that due to the unwelcoming vibe. Aside from that person, Paws is a great place to adopt cats. Its also a great place that will educate you about owning a cat. They also offer volunteer opportunities, such as fostering cats when Paws is crowded.

We dropped off a cat that my GF had owned for over 6 years. The folks at PAWS of Bainbridge Island…read more(PAWS BI) worked with us and even modified their hours to accept our cat to accommodate us as we couldn't make it into the adoption center by their closing hours. Rehoming a cherished pet is very difficult, and the staff at PAWS BI were kind and understanding. We hope someone will adopt our boy as he has been at my GF's side for a long time. My concern for the cat, as well as the other pets housed at PAWS BI is the location: They are located at the far end of BI, and with the price of gas, not so many people are going to want to drive that far to adopt a 6+ year old cat. I hope that the good folks are PAWS BI will consider moving to a location that's closer to the beaten path where most working folks live and frequent.

I have written an essay about my 12 years living at Songaia. You can find that here:…read morehttps://medium.com/@exvie1968/leaving-songaia-a-cohousing-cautionary-tale-931c90242543

This little community is a great place to live, they have a food program were everyone has one day…read moreof the week were they get to make dinner for anyone who wants to have it there. in this place everyone is helpful and willing to take time out of there day for whatever problem you may have. its an amazing place and they also have rooms you can rent out for awhile if you feel like living there. The website for this wonderful place is www.songaia.com and there is also one in Seattle if i recall. in all my time spent at this beautiful place, i have found no downsides. that is unless you are one of those people who just don't like a sense of community

My motorcycle broke down in the parking lot and I was unable to move it. I communicated with staff…read moreand left it there while attempting to find help. Fishline staff had My bike towed and now it's going to cost 800$ to get out. Thank you fishline of poulsbo

The services to those in need in our community that Fishline provides are essential…read more Supporting food security for individuals and families is done through a state of the art food bank, where clients obtain food through a grocery type shopping experience. Fresh produce, meat, along with can goods, and more, are available. Fishline offers numerous services that help stabilize families to a degree as well as help children be able to enjoy what their peers do. The Birthday Fairy program is one such remarkable touch for kids. The Comprehensive Services Center houses several local non-profit organizations, a dental office, support for Veterans, and others, that are on site to provide necessary support to clients beyond them just receiving food. Those in need should be made aware of the organization so they can obtain support. Those who can help by sharing time, talent, or resources, should take a tour both virtually and in person at Fishline, to see what difference you can make!

Well, I'm impressed! High quality faculty with a very lovely staff. I enjoyed my visit to see a…read morefriend. They make the experience fun!

Outstanding caregiver experience. I was without support, needing transportation to/from hospital in…read moreSeattle for surgery, 3 days caregiver/companion before, during and after surgery. That's asking a lot. Their caregiver was fearless, able, helpful and charming. Cost was reasonable too. Excellent outcome.

Lots of great stuff , especially men's big and tall clothes. Was visiting from CA and this store is…read moreway better than the GW thrift stores at home

It appears they need to stencil "compact" on many of their stalls in the parking lot. Parking my…read morevan was difficult. Many of the workers ran right into me, some appologizing, some not. They must have been terribly behind in order to completely disregard their customers like that. Super bizarre. I found a nice ensemble I wanted to purchase after combing the store and finally had to use the restroom. There are large signs that say "restroom", pointing down a corridor. After traveling all the way down the corridor, the door was locked, with a sign that said to see an associate. I walk back towards the store from the corridor and see the mistake . . . There indeed were signs in the hallway that specified a code was needed, but in a small font, shadowed by the huge restroom font with arrows. After the parking, getting ran Into multiple times by employees, walking down a long corridor to poop, just to have it locked with small signage, I left my products and walked immediately out of the door. I probably wont visit for a couple years so that they can terminate, retrain, resign, etc. If you like associates completely disrespecting you and running into you, this is your store!

This Goodwill, I feel is very well organized. There didn't seem to be a lot of larger furniture but…read morea lot of the furniture is at the front of the store instead of the back where is normally is. I guess that's good because then you can or have a store associate carry it straight out to your car instead of pulling it around the back or whatever. The only thing I didn't like is that the aisle are too tight. I mean, there are a lot of items on the racks but the racks are too close together so if someone comes down the aisle with a cart then you're screwed and have to play that game of chicken to see who's going to back out first. Slowly creeping closer and closer down the aisle until one of you decides to back on out. I went on a weekend and it was a price explosion. True that many of the GW's in the area have higher prices. I think pricing the more known name brands can be extreme at times since I can just go to a regular store and get it for that price, but even the branded apparel with higher prices wasn't too bad. The green tag sale really helped me make up my mind as well as to whether I "really" needed some things. I would say go when there are tag sales because you may be more apt to buy something. I will also say, the GW's in the area really don't skip on the tag sales. Normally you go to places like Value Village or whatever and there are like 1 or 2 items with the tag of the day on the rack. This GW was loaded with items with the right color tag. I got 15 dress shirts for a little over $9. Yeah....I know!!! Overwhelmed with emotions. All I'm saying is that the gems are not hidden. Good quality items & it doesn't smell all dank and musty. I almost shat myself when I saw VHS for 49 cent. **DECEASED*** If I'm in the area, I'll definitely go back. Good quantity of cashiers as well, so the line isn't snaking around the corner for 1 cashier.

I have found their prices to exceed brand new prices by over 500 % for a used item in fair…read morecondition. While some donated products might have a lower price, most are over priced.