Blaine Food Bank welcomes new director amid increased demand

The Blaine Food Bank (BFB) appointed Lisa Dobbin as its new director in mid-November, replacing long-time director Sally Church to lead the local charity organization.

Dobbin has volunteered for BFB for the past two years since moving to Blaine, and has worked with food security and animal welfare charities for years in her native Washington and previous home in Arizona.

Dobbin, who is replacing longtime director Sally Church after her retirement from three decades leading BFB, said she is excited to take on the mantle of director of the crucial lifeline for so many local families.

“There’s a huge need in the community,” Dobbin said. “We never know why another person is struggling and I want to help be a part of finding solutions so that we don’t see children going to bed hungry.”

The food bank has seen not only a drastic increase in the number of people coming for fresh produce, milk, protein and other staple goods in recent years, but also a steep decline in the funding it gets both from governments and donations.

In the past year, due to budget constraints, the city of Blaine cut $50,000 in annual funding that BFB used to purchase fresh milk. State and federal grants for the food bank from pandemic-era relief funds are also slated to run out by the end of this year, Dobbin said.

Combine the drop in funding with what Dobbin said was a 143 percent increase in traffic at the food bank since 2019 – compared to a 59 percent increase at food banks statewide in the same timeframe – BFB is forced to find new sources of revenue to keep apace.

One of those new sources was “Catoberfest,” a local festival hosted by Beach Cat Brewing at Blaine Marine Park in September that raised $21,000 for BFB, according to former director Church.

Serving a weekly average of over 700 families means that those funds go quickly, and BFB is always looking for new sources of revenue, donations or anything to help out, Dobbin said.

“When people get lined up to wait to go through and receive their food, there’s longer and longer wait times,” Dobbin said. “In the last month, we’ve had four different days that have been record days historically for the number of people we serve.”

Another opportunity to increase donations came up in November when an anonymous donor offered $40,000 if the community could match that amount in donations by December 31. The cash donations specifically help with purchases of protein-rich foods like fresh dairy and meat products, Dobbin said.

Sally Church had been director of BFB for the majority of its existence, and stepped down due to an ongoing battle with cancer. As a fellow cancer survivor, Dobbin said she was inspired by the steadfast dedication of Church, and wanted to do the same in her retirement years.

“I’ve seen that Sally has an incredible gift. She’s had the ability to touch so many people in so many ways and really meet people where they were, at whatever experience they were having in their life in that moment,” Dobbin said. “She provided them help with dignity and with respect and kindness. She worked tirelessly to help better the food bank and to grow the programs and we wouldn’t be where we are today without her help.”

For more information on how to donate to BFB, visit blainefoodbank.org, call 360/332-6350, or stop by at 500 C Street in Blaine. BFB is open Mondays and Fridays, 9-noon, and Wednesdays 5-7, and volunteers can work seven days a week.

Dobbin said BFB is always in need of donated food, funds and labor, and has a specific need for qualified truck drivers to keep the grocery rescue program running on schedule.

Dobbin acknowledged the great work that Church has done over the years, and said she’s grateful for all the hard work of the countless volunteers that have donated their labor to helping combat food insecurity in the community.

“Sally has big shoes to fill. She’s been there for a long time and everybody in the community knows her and has trusted her for so long,” Dobbin said. “There has to be somebody in charge to function the business, but in a situation like this, we couldn’t function without our volunteers, they are everything to us.”