Charles Koh
Fall food collection benefits Northwest Harvest during time of need; five donated items nets participants free cup of Ivar’s chowder as ‘thanks’
SEATTLE – More than 367,000 families in Washington state face the threat of hunger every day. To help combat the problem, Ivar’s will hold its “Shell-Out for Hunger” food drive to benefit local non-profit Northwest Harvest and help feed area families in need.
From Wednesday, Sept. 5 through Friday, Oct. 5, guests can visit Ivar’s Western Washington locations, including its Seafood Bars and full service restaurants, but excluding stadium locations, to drop off non-perishable food items and help make a difference. As a hearty thank you to donors, Ivar’s will provide one free cup of its award-winning clam chowder per person for donations of five or more items. At the completion of the drive, Ivar’s will also donate a cup of chowder to Northwest Harvest to match every non-perishable food item collected.
“One in five people in our state struggles with hunger,” said Deborah Squires, director of community engagement for Northwest Harvest. “Summer and early fall are high-need times, and we are grateful to Ivar’s guests who will participate in Shell-Out for Hunger. We have a void to fill and these donations go a long way in supporting the community.”
For those who cannot make it to an Ivar’s location during Shell-Out for Hunger, or who prefer to make a monetary donation, Ivar’s and Northwest Harvest have set up a text-to-donate option. Simply text the keyword “SHELLOUT” to 80888 for a one-time donation of $10. Northwest Harvest can feed a family of three a nutritious meal for just 67 cents, which means $10 can feed almost 15 families with a welcomed meal.
“We have a longstanding relationship with Northwest Harvest that spans nearly a decade. This year we wanted to launch a timely food drive to benefit this fantastic non-profit that does so much for our community,” said Bob Donegan, president of Ivar’s. “Our goal for Shell-Out for Hunger is to raise more than a ton of food, surpassing our past food drive donations. This would result in 4,000 cups of chowder that Ivar’s will donate to match our loyal customers’ efforts.”
To learn more about Ivar’s Shell-Out for Hunger food drive and find donation locations, visit the Ivar’s website. To learn more about the need for food donations in Washington State visit www.northwestharvest.org.
About Ivar’s
Ivar’s Seafood Restaurants began on Seattle’s waterfront in 1938. Today, there are 25 Ivar’s fast casual Seafood Bars and three full-service restaurants: Ivar’s Acres of Clams, Ivar’s Salmon House and Ivar’s Mukilteo Landing. Ivar’s Seafood, Soup and Sauce Company markets and sells its award-winning soups, chowders and sauces both nationally and internationally. The company also operates regional stadium concessions including Safeco Field, CenturyLink Field and KeyArena. Learn more at www.ivars.com.
About Northwest Harvest
Northwest Harvest is a nonprofit agency fighting hunger in Washington. Northwest Harvest distributes food freely across the entire state—last year that was more than 26 million pounds of food, the equivalent of 1.7 million meals every month—to a network of more than 350 hunger relief programs, including Cherry Street Food Bank, the busiest food bank in Washington. It works each day to provide nutritious food to hungry people statewide in a manner that respects their dignity, while fighting to eliminate hunger.
