The Anacortes 100 food bank is an excellent organization. I highly recommend it to folks who are…read morestruggling to meet their day to day food needs for themselves or for their families. Let's look at the basic fundamentals of how it works at Anacortes 100 food bank. First, you will show up once a week on either a Tuesday or a Friday from 10am-2pm. If you are new, next to the sign in sheet is a sign up sheet. Fill that out and give it to a volunteer behind the door. Rarely will a live person be out in the front to check you in. You will just sign in on the sign in sheet. Second, you will grab your bag of food. If you have a large family, they may give you two bags. Just ask how many you get if you are new to the program and have a large family. I have a family of 2, and I get one bag. Sometimes, they will have extra meat or dairy category additions, and a volunteer will ask you if you want it or not. This might take the form of milk, eggs, pork, or chicken. Third, after receiving your bag, check out the isle of bread and produce. Take what you can use. As far as I know, there is no official limit, but just keep in mind that there are others in line as well that need to have something to pick from. In other words, take as much as you need right now and not as much as your big empty freezer at home can take if you see what I mean. The produce is often past its prime, but it is sometimes usable. You just have to be dedicated to picking through it and be willing to cut off bad spots to eat the rest of the nutritious fruit or veggie. Sometimes there are extras also located on the two isles next to the food door, and you can usually take as much of that as you can use as well. The last example I remember is coconut water in several flavors. Fourth, there are shopping carts that you can take down to your car if you end up grabbing more than you can carry. Just be sure to return them, as there is no volunteers available to find and return missing carts. Once again, you can go once a week on either Tuesday or Friday. There is usually some special distribution for Thanksgiving and Christmas. For Thanksgiving this year, they handed out a food bag and a $25 gift certificate for meat at the local Safeway. What you are able to actually get each year for Thanksgiving or Christmas greatly depends on the funding they receive and the donations of local establishments. This may not be a thing you can count on next year, but I was blessed to have it happen to me this year. Thank you Anacortes 100!! Let's talk briefly about the line. It is usually longest in the morning when it opens as far as my experience goes. The line does not move very fast as there is really only enough room inside the small establishment for one or two clients at a time. Each client can take up to 5-10 minutes at times. This being the case, I usually come a little later than 10 so that I do not have to wait in the cold (more of a factor now in the winter). Last item I want to discuss is commodities. These are government surplus items that are given out once a month by the food bank. Usually this is an extra bag worth of food (at least it was in my experience so far, in truth, it probably varies in quantity). They give these out on the first Friday of every month. This is the only day that it might be worth trying to get there early as they do run out. I hope this post alleviates any fears of what it will be like going to the food bank and how its process works. At least, this is what I usually hated in going to new food banks was all the uncertainty of how to sign up and how it all works. I also hopes this inspires locals to contribute to this local cause through donations of food and money. It serves many individuals and families throughout Anacortes with basic necessities to get through the week with at least some food. Thank you Anacortes 100 for your good work!

This spectacular garden tour (and fundraiser for Skagit Symphony) was the perfect way to spend a…read morerecent sunny Sunday afternoon with my favorite dude, as we drove around the beautiful Skagit Valley marveling at private gardens of all shapes, sizes, and styles. We started at the home of some local nursery owners. Of course, we were expecting this garden to be spectacular but it was more than that. It was perfect, but not TOO perfect. The plant and flower varieties were incredible, as were the on-site greenhouse and potting shed. There was also eclectic seating throughout the garden, a fruit orchard in the back, and a beautiful dome-topped iron trellis onto which an apple tree had been trained. This was the first stop on the tour and it did NOT disappoint. The remaining 6 stops on the tour were all in Anacortes, about a 20-minute drive from the first stop. There was a very handy guidebook provided with our tickets, which gave detailed, turn-by-turn directions between each garden and provided an overview of what to expect at the next stop. From water features to sculptures, the gardens featured not just plants but lots of inspiration for my own garden. The finale was a breathtaking house overlooking neighboring Guemes Island, with a yard full of carefully curated sculptures and a deck with sweeping views of the sailboats down below. Many stops also included live symphony music played on-site, as well as (much needed) water stations as the day was very warm. Parking was challenging in a couple of the spots, but there were also plenty of volunteers and helpers on hand to help out. My only suggestion: would it be possible to have a local wine vendor pouring samples at each garden? I mean, it doesn't hurt to ask right? This was the first garden tour I've been on in several years, and I look forward to going again next year if at all possible!

I went to the Humane Society of Skagit Valley a few weeks ago hoping to adopt a dog. The front desk…read morestaff was really friendly and helpful -- they took their time and pointed me toward some sweet dogs that seemed like a good match. While I was there, I noticed a little pug and asked about her. They told me she wasn't available for adoption. I could see why -- her butt was prolapsed and there was liquid poop and blood all over her kennel. She was panting, whining, and frantically trying to get out. It was really upsetting to see. I spoke with the manager, who told me not to worry, that they had it under control and the dog was fine. I left feeling terrible. I came back a few days later and the poor pug was still in the same condition -- prolapse, bloody diarrhea, the whole thing. She still looked miserable. I'm really concerned that they don't have the animals' best interest at heart. A prolapsed rectum is painful, and there was clearly blood coming from her. I just don't understand how a person could look at that and think it's okay to leave her like that. This experience has me seriously questioning the level of care the animals are getting. I wanted to support the shelter, but I left feeling heartbroken and worried. I'm still looking to adopt a dog, but after this experience I don't feel confident adopting from here.

Bad customer services, never return phone calls! I submitted an application and then called them…read more The lady said she would call me back within an hour but never called me back. I tried again two days later, same experience happened. Finally a day later they told me the cat I chose was already gone and told me to just make an appointment whenever I see a new cat arrives. I did but then the lady said I can't make an appointment because the cat just came in, need 72 hours. She can't guarantee I would get the cat though. I don't want to waste more time, I went to a different shelter where people know how to run the business. I got the cat!

I could not make it without this program. I am so grateful for their assistance and kindness.read more

The kind Service people who u ask for help are very kind and answer my questions. If they don't…read moreknow the answer they will find someone else who does. The food is pretty good considering it's what most stores are throwing out I know what the people in back sift thru just to get the good stuff that they do. It's hard on them to get stuff that's good when they have lots of bad stuff to go thru and that's not all about of the time supply is the issue. They can't supply people with what they need if they don't receive it as a donation due to what little grants they receive. Helping hands deserves to get more I volunteer 6 days a week 7 to 8 hour days driving delivery and warehouse work. But could not get hired cuz they don't have the money to hire more people. That's why they rely on volunteers but they are hard to come by due to the many hours they are needed and the ton of work they are needed to do. It's a GREAT HELP TO SEDRO-WOOLLEY, MOUNT VERNON, BURLINGTON, AND OTHER LOCAL CITIES HERE IN SKAGIT COUNTIES!!!!! EVEN WITH THE SHORTAGE OF VOLUNTEERS THAT HELP OUT EVERYDAY!!!! If you need other things such as information on where to get a shower or where as a runaway teen can go or a shelter church that takes in families. Things that as a community we need at times of hardship Helping Hands Food Bank is the place to go for food!!!!! First!!!!!

I had a very disappointing experience with Robert Preston's phone assistance service, which is…read morebeing promoted through flyers distributed by the Opportunity Council in Bellingham. The process involved providing copies of sensitive documents, including my ID and Social Security number, with the promise of receiving a government-funded phone. Unfortunately, after submitting the documents, I was told to travel to Burlington to pick up the phone -- multiple times -- because Robert does not reside in Bellingham and was consistently unavailable. He rarely answers his phone, which made communication extremely difficult. In the end, I never received the phone I was supposed to get. When I ordered a new phone on my own and asked him to return the one he allegedly picked up on my behalf, I received a text message where Robert stated that my SIM card would be just deactivated. I still don't know what happened to the original phone. In my experience, this process felt disorganized and unreliable. I would recommend exercising caution, especially when sharing personal information. I hope others will have a clearer and safer process if they seek similar assistance.

From the owner: Street Outreach help our unsheltered and previously incarcerated get life sustaining supplies and…read morealso services such as treatment and housing referrals.