MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOUNDATION RECEIVES GRANT FROM TOTE MARITIME

Making A Difference Foundation (MADF) has been awarded a $10,000 grant from TOTE Maritime to support the remodel project of its new Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank building.

MADF’s Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank addresses food insecurity within the Pierce County community. It serves low-income people in need of prepackaged food as well as fresh produce, meat and dairy items, special diet food, and culturally appropriate food. Low-income clients receive food, free of charge, through onsite service and delivery. Individuals, families with children, the elderly, disabled, veterans, BIPOC, and those within immigrant communities can receive up to 100 lbs. of food per visit.

During the COVID-19 crisis, Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank saw an unprecedented number of people needing food and hunger-related services. In 2020 alone, the food bank served 317,125 people (across 103,310 households) with 23,784,375 lbs. of food which equates out to 35,676,562 meals. To be able to continue meeting this level of need, MADF purchased a new, larger building to house the food bank, which will still be located on the east side of Tacoma. The new location will be remodeled to work like a grocery store, but with all items still free of charge.

“As an organization, we strive to meet the needs of the area’s most vulnerable people in a dignified way and remove all barriers to them getting healthy food. Our new food bank location will give clients the ability to choose and shop for the food they not only need but will also eat. It is because of donations such as this from TOTE that we are able to expand, grow, and continue to meet the hunger needs in Pierce County,” states MADF’s President/CEO, Ahndrea Blue.

The Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank first opened in 2009 and is currently open for services at 3543 E. McKinley Ave, Tacoma from 10:30 AM to 4:00 PM Tuesdays through Saturdays. For more information about the program, visit MADF’s website at www.themadf.org or call 253-212-2778.

TOTE is proud to support the communities in which they live and serve. Each year their company provides financial, in-kind, and volunteer support to dozens of socio-economic and community-building organizations. They strive to be excellent corporate citizens, ever mindful of our commitment to integrity, job safety, environmental stewardship, and giving back to the communities we serve. They also encourage cross-group collaboration and share information about our charitable donations and practices throughout our organization and with our customers and partners.

The TOTE Group encompasses some of the leading transportation and logistics companies in the U.S. domestic market. In addition to TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico and TOTE Maritime Alaska, the TOTE Group includes TOTE Services, which offers crewing and technical services to meet the needs of commercial, privately owned, and U.S. Government vessels. The TOTE Group and its subsidiaries are part of the Saltchuk family of companies. www.toteinc.com