Dear subscribers: VashonBePrepared will shift to an every-other-week publication schedule starting with our next edition, which will be published in the Beachcomber on October 31st.
In any given week, 300 Vashon households rely on food provided by the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank. In a year, more than 15% of island residents partake of the Food Bank’s free, all-comers, no-questions-asked nutrition. That’s why VashonBePrepared counts the Food Bank as a key partner for disaster preparedness.
Earlier this month, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Team made a field trip to the food bank, including a session on plans for the new, more efficient Food Bank facility that will open in town late next year. A food bank representative has an automatic seat on the VashonBePrepared board of directors, ready to act for our community in an emergency.
If an earthquake or other calamity severed Vashon’s fragile ferry link to the mainland, a top priority for VashonBePrepared would be supporting food distribution for the hundreds of food bank clients. Many would go hungry without the food bank. Then, when food bank clients have been served and relief supplies start arriving, the food bank team stands ready to distribute food around the community.
This concept worked well during the pandemic when food bank volunteers home-delivered tens of thousands of bags of groceries. In short, if things are tough on Vashon, we know who to call. The food bank folks are partner experts!
Help with winter shelter
Every winter, Vashonites in need end up sleeping rough in icy, wet weather. Folks have suggested we open shelters in churches or schools. But the key word there is open. There are many potential shelter locations, but we need people to run the shelters and take care of clients who need help. You can volunteer to help out.
The Vashon Emergency Operations Center is putting out a call for Vashon volunteers to get some shelter training to be ready to help in the event of bad weather or a natural disaster such as an earthquake. We’re building a list of candidates for this training so classes can be arranged.
Would you like to help out? Contact Kim Nelson at werestoreit@comcast.net or text (206) 604-9666.
ShakeOut Day
10:17 a.m., Thursday, October 17. That’s the exact moment of worldwide ShakeOut Day. But perhaps you are just now getting the paper and missed the exact moment.
Just think of this as ShakeOut week. Go ahead. Practice! It’s the largest earthquake drill in the world, so you won’t be alone.
A reminder: if you are on the shoreline, head for high ground after the initial shaking stops. In a real-world earthquake situation, there may be a fast-moving tsunami wave. So after you ShakeOut, take a walk and practice your tsunami high-ground mojo.
Drop! Cover! Hold on! That’s the main Shakeout activity. Check out this illustrated web page guide for what to practice during the Shakeout: shakeout.org/dropcoverholdon. (Courtesy photo)
