An article in today’s Post-Record (“IMPACT Camas-Washougal’s ‘call to action’ continues to grow”, A1) notes that inflated food prices are making life more difficult for many Camas-Washougal families.
“The need in our community continues to grow,” Nancy Nass-Boon, the coordinator of the Washougal School District’s family resource center, told The Post-Record. “More families than ever are relying on assistance to make ends meet.”
In Camas, the article noted, there are at least 60 families with children who attend Camas schools who are in need of the supplemental food boxes the IMPACT Camas-Washougal group has been pulling together for the past decade to “bridge” the gap between when school ends and summertime food-assistance programs begin.
“When St. Matthew’s called toward the end of the school year to organize the IMPACT Camas-Washougal event, I was so relieved,” Brenda Schallberger, who coordinates the Camas School District’s Family-Community Resource Center, told The Post-Record. “Working parents will have shelf stable supplies for their students when they go off to work — and even more meaningful is that all the families realize how much this community cares about them and their well-being. More than ever during these difficult economic times, when rents and food costs are unusually high, we believe in the great positive impact of this event.”
Since its inception in 2015, IMPACT Camas-Washougal has distributed 1,200 supplemental food boxes to local families, but even that isn’t enough. As one of the group’s members told The Post-Record last week: “We know there’s a lot of need out there, but even though we’re not reaching everybody who probably truly needs the help, we know we’re at least reaching some of the people in need of help.”