Military Department donates to Tillicum food bank

Lt. Col. Angela Gentry helps deliver food to the Tillicum/American Lake Gardens Community Service Center.

Military Department donates to Tillicum food bank

A generous helping of food, including much needed canned fruit and peanut butter, was donated this week by the Washington Military Department to the food bank at the Tillicum/American Lake Gardens Community Service Center.

The Military Department hosted a month-long food drive that began after the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. The Military Department hosts the annual food drive and over the years it has provided many struggling families with a source of food that makes a world of difference to them. 

Hundreds of cans filled boxes.

More than 1,000 pounds of food plus cash donations to buy the equivalent of 800 more pounds of food were donated to the food bank at the Tillicum/American Lake Gardens Community Service Center.

Lt. Col. Angela Gentry and Maj. Jeff Reese, both of 341st Military Intelligence, joined members of the public affairs team to deliver the food on Feb. 15.

Claudia Fisher, a program specialist at the food bank, said that last month about 360 families were helped with food.

“This is around the time when the shelves are getting bare and, as you saw, there were some bare shelves in there,” Fisher said. “Thank you so much to the Guard and the Military Department for helping us.”

Claudia Fisher, a program specialist at the food bank, is surprised by the donations.

About 96 percent of the children in the community get free or reduced lunches and it’s one of the lowest income single parent family communities in Pierce County, according to officials at Tillicum/American Lake Gardens Community Center. Last year, the food bank provided 9,175 food baskets to those who needed it.

The food bank is located at the Tillicum/American Lake Gardens Community Center, 14916 Washington Ave SW, Lakewood, WA. The center is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for anyone who wants to drop off food donations.



Maj. Jeff Reese helps deliver food to the Tillicum/American Lake Gardens Community Service Center.