Rural food desert Carbonado gets a leg up with new GoodRoots refrigerated locker

The locker allows residents to order food from the Buckley food security nonprofit at their convenience

By Ray Miller-Still • September 11, 2024 9:30 am
Photo by Ray Miller-Still Cutting the ribbon for Carbonado’s new refrigerated food locker is Roberta “Doodie” Kyllonen, 90, who is the city’s longest volunteer at the year-old food pantry. Also pictured, left to right, is Shelly Wright and Denise Vesey, co-founders of the food pantry, GoodRoots CEO Stacey Crnich, and Congressional Rep. Dr. Kim Schrier.
Photo by Ray Miller-Still Cutting the ribbon for Carbonado’s new refrigerated food locker is Roberta “Doodie” Kyllonen, 90, who is the city’s longest volunteer at the year-old food pantry. Also pictured, left to right, is Shelly Wright and Denise Vesey, co-founders of the food pantry, GoodRoots CEO Stacey Crnich, and Congressional Rep. Dr. Kim Schrier.

The small city of Carbonado had something to celebrate last week.

On Sept. 4, elected officials from several municipalities and Pierce County, local food pantry volunteers, staff and volunteers from GoodRoots Northwest, and several Carbonado residents gathered to cut the ribbon on a new GoodRoots refrigerated food locker.

The phrase “refrigerated food locker” might not sound exciting to some, but it appears a sizable percentage of the city’s population relies on some sort of food security assistance.

At first, the only in-city option was an unnamed community food pantry that operated only on Fridays from 1:30 to 5 p.m.

Co-founder Denise Vesey said that around 50 families – or about 150 individuals – pass through the year-old pantry every week; that’s roughly 20% of the city’s population.

“We saw it really pick up during the winter of last year… and it’s just maintained that same pace once that hit,” Vesey said.

But the pantry relies solely on what’s available from bigger food banks – which means sometimes, they don’t have very much to offer.

“Last year, we were inundated with fresh vegetables. Hardly any this year,” Vesey said to a backdrop of the pantry, stuffed with breads and little else. “It’s been tough this year with the fresh stuff.”

“It’s feast or famine for us,” she continued in a speech at the gathering.

But GoodRoots’ refrigerated food locker should help change this, especially for Carbonado’s working families.

“… You could have a double income and it’s still hard” to afford good food, Vesey said. “This is a huge improvement.”

GoodRoots Northwest, formerly The Market (and before that, the Bonney Lake Food Bank) bills itself as a hub for “systematic solutions with a vision for vibrant food secure communities” – which can very much simply sound like “food bank,” but don’t let CEO Stacey Crnich catch you calling it that.

GoodRoots has embraced a new style of providing food security to east Pierce County and south King County residents via its grocery-store-like concept. Lately, the nonprofit has worked at establishing refrigerated food lockers at various locations so customers can order their food online and pick it up at their convenience, rather than having to find the time to visit the Buckley headquarters.

The Carbonado food locker was actually installed July 8, two months before the ribbon cutting; according to Crnich, more than 80 orders were delivered the following day.

“In context, there’s 202 houses in this community,” Crnich said to a small crowd before the ribbon was cut.

Attending the event was 8th Congressional District Rep. Dr. Kim Schrier, who has partnered with GoodRoots to secure funding for these food lockers.

Schrier talked to the crowd about how funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or colloquially called “food stamps”) has not grown, despite a growing population that relies on the program.

“Food has gotten so darned expensive,” she said. “… This is meeting a need. It’s taking care of people.”

HOW THE LOCKERS WORK

GoodRoots is founded on the idea that people who are food insecure do not have to experience dehumanization or indignity; Crnich said that traditional food banks, which often require proof of income, identification, and other information, often make people feel ashamed to receive the help they need, or even avoid food banks in general.

That’s why GoodRoots doesn’t require this information in order to shop at their headquarters or order food to be delivered to the food lockers; customers only need to self-declare their income level.

To order from the lockers, you first must register with GoodRoots at goodroots.org, either online or at the headquarters at 24015 State Route 410 outside Buckley; from there, you can simply shop online and choose a pick-up window at your convenience.

Other lockers in the area include one at the GoodRoots HQ and at the Bonney Lake High School; another is expected to be installed at the Rainier Fresh Country Store in Buckley in the near future.

GoodRoots’ Market is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.