Spirit of Hope

Community Action East County Campus is a public private partnership with Skagit County covering the East County Resource Center and Concrete Community Center. Our unique partnership with Skagit County provides local access to many county services such as tax payments, food handlers permits, voter and election information and Commissioner appointments.

East County Resource Center provides immediate assistance with basic needs and information, and referral to other Community Action programs. Legal Aid is available two days per month, Energy Assistance includes staff located in the office during the winter, Veteran staff schedule outreach appointments and Center staff provide Critical Needs, Food Access, Information and Referral along with Coordinated Entry intakes. Additionally, office space is shared with a variety of community partners providing services such as DSHS, WIC and the Department of Corrections. A Chamber of Commerce office is co-located and provides Department of Licensing services.

Concrete Community Center provides hot meals for seniors and community members experiencing food insecurity. A nutritious meal is served daily and the food service provides an opportunity for the Fresh Start Kitchen training program to provide basic employment skills and an opportunity to obtain a nationally recognized food safety certificate. The training program is run in partnership with our Job Skills & Training program.

Right now, we need help supporting our Hot Meal Program at our East County Campus.

Due to COVID-19, our Hot Meal Program has experienced a 20% increase in the need for food resources from our program participants. On average, we serve around 10,000 meals a year, and about 850 meals per month. Concrete’s population is approximately 1,100 individuals, and our hot meal program services approximately 240 individuals. We expect a 30% increase in demand for meals from our hot meal program to continue through this next year.

Since COVID-19 hit Skagit County, the Hot Meal Program has adapted by transitioning the hot meal
program to a take-out style. This adjustment allows participants and staff to maintain social distancing while accessing a nutritious, hot meal. This adjustment has incurred additional costs to the program and takes additional staffing time and capacity to implement this program.

Our Hot Meal Program is the only hot meal program in Concrete open to children and their families to access nutritious food, and simultaneously, our program provides opportunities for individuals to utilize services such as a food pantry, legal aid, housing assistance, and much more.

Community Action's East County Campus

East County Campus

Hot Meal Program