Close to 2,000 more locals visited Enumclaw’s Plateau Outreach Ministry’s new combined food bank this year over 2023, and other service numbers have also ticked up.

The non-profit, which was formed in 1998 with a mission to help neighbors in crisis, released its yearly Impact Statement and Annual Report earlier this month to showcase how many individuals and families visit the food bank or receive rent and utility assistance, as well as how many hours volunteers worked and in-kind donations were gifted.

This year’s numbers may be a result of POM’s new food bank location.

In 2022, POM and the Enumclaw Food Bank — a separate nonprofit that operated outside the Enumclaw Senior Center — combined, but both locations continued its own operations at different hours.

In February 2024, POM moved both food bank locations to Calvary Presbyterian Church. This not only provided more food storage and room for customers to shop in, but it meant volunteers no longer had to set up and take down the food bank every Wednesday, allowing more hours to be devoted to other tasks, and more space to do them in.

In 2023, nearly 10,500 families (or 30,500 individuals) utilized the two food banks, a 30% increase across both from the previous year.

The total number of food bank users jumped again last year to about 12,250 families (about 34,350 people), a 17% increase.

Total food amount also increased, from 463,500 pounds to 467,000 pounds — which, for the first time in POMs history, breaks the $1 million value mark in annual food donations (though it should be noted the cost of food has also risen).

Having the food bank in its own separate locations has greatly aided the More Pennies From Heaven thrift shop, said POM Director of Community Engagement Angie Adam, because the extra space expanded the shop space and donation sorting area.

“We only had to close donations once all of 2024,” Adam added.

In 2023, a little more than $46,600 in various in-kind donations were gifted to More Pennies From Heaven.

That rose to just over $58,200 this year.

Money from the thrift shop went toward covering 100% of all of POM’s administrative costs last year.

However, in-kind donations dropped off, from $115,100 in 2023 to $101,500 in 2024.

Total volunteer hours increased from 14,400 to about 16,600.

The amount of households served via rent and utility vouchers decreased from nearly 2,000 in 2023 to 1,860 last year, total financial assistance rose from $436,000 to $463,000.

To read more of POM’s annual report, go to plateauoutreach.org/annual-report.