This year, we feel extremely lucky to be in the tree business.

Normally, we feel lucky to be in the tree business because we love trees. But this year, as we watch our friends, family, and fellow community members struggle with unemployment due to COVID, we feel lucky to be in an industry surviving the pandemic.

When we’re feeling lucky, we give back. We want to share our luck with our community.

An increase in need

The number of people who are food insecure in Washington state has doubled since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of 851,000 people needing food assistance, approximately 2 million, or one-fourth of the state’s population, is struggling with food security. Most people cite unemployment as the reason they find themselves waiting in long food lines at local food pantries.

In February 2020, before the pandemic hit, the Ballard Food Bank served 3,200 families in Seattle communities west of I-5. For the last nine months, the Food Bank has been serving twice the number of families in the same seven Seattle ZIP codes.

A mobile food drive

Seattle is our community. Our office and our main equipment yard are in Lower Queen Anne, on Nickerson Street, right on the edge of the Fremont Bridge. Our crew gathers here, Monday through Friday, at the beginning and end of their days. The Ballard Food Bank directly serves the same ZIP codes where we work, where we live, where we serve.

Our team travels all across the city, five days a week. From Eastlake to West Seattle, from Capitol Hill to Crown Hill, our staff visits different households, different properties, meeting trees, and making connections.

This winter, we are putting our mobility to good use with a mobile food drive that will benefit the Ballard Food Bank.

How to participate

You don’t need to be one of our clients to contribute.

If you’re receiving a free estimate from one of our arborists, we invite you to have donations ready for pick up while they’re on site for the initial assessment. We recommend having your donations outside, anywhere dry and accessible, where they can be collected even if you’re unavailable.

Alternatively, if you have a set appointment for your estimate, our arborist can gather your donations at the beginning or end of their visit.

You can also contribute if you have a scheduled job with us. Our crew leaders will be collecting donations at their job sites. You can either leave donations somewhere accessible or, if you have a pruning project, our crew leader can collect your donations at the initial or final walkthrough of the project.

What to donate

See below for a list of suggested donations from the Ballard Food Bank. You’re welcome to donate other items not on this list. Ring-pull tab cans are particularly loved at the food bank, as are any shelf-stable “ready to go meals.”

Feel free to call our office with any questions or ask one of our team members.

We’ll be collecting donations until Friday, January 29.

Since 2006, we’ve had the honor of providing tree service to our community year-round. For that, we are thankful. This season, we thank you for allowing us to support our community in a new way.