Board Announces 2023 4% Friday Recipients

Community is what makes us a Co-op, and it’s why we exist: to nourish, serve, and give back to our friends and neighbors in Skagit Valley. Every month, all year long, when you shop on 4% Friday, we donate 4% of sales to local nonprofits. From school gardens and community kitchens to homeless outreach and the preservation of Skagit farmland, what you put in your cart plays a big part!

In 2021 and 2022, we prioritized healthy food for all by selecting groups with a focus on food security throughout the pandemic and beyond. The need for food security still looms large, so that focus continues into 2023. We’ve also selected a few groups brand new to the 4% Friday program including Mount Vernon Library’s Trial By Flavor program and New Earth Recovery. Be sure to mark your calendars, stock up, and shop big on 4% Fridays to give back with us in a big way!

Skagit DVSAS – January 27

The mission of Skagit DVSAS is to end domestic violence and sexual assault in the Skagit Valley community through empowerment, advocacy, education, and action for social change.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used to provide emergency housing, toiletries, gas, clothing, and food for victims of domestic violence through Skagit DVSAS’ emergency shelter program. Victims fleeing abusive relationships often have to leave their homes with nothing and have multiple needs.

Mount Vernon Library Trial by Flavor – February 24

Mount Vernon City Library’s Trial By Flavor program introduces patrons to healthy and diverse food choices by offering them inspiration, information, and encouragement. Trial By Flavor consists of a free kit of recipes and information focused on a particular flavor profile, seasoning, or ingredient, along with many of the non-perishable ingredients for making a particular recipe. The take-home kits are complimented with demonstrations by local chefs.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used to expand the program, including offering 8 editions of the program in 2023, with 100 take home kits for each edition.

Camp Korey – March 24

The mission of Camp Korey is to honor the courage, strength, and determination of children and their families living with life-altering medical conditions by providing them with a transformational experience in a fun, safe camp environment with specialized medical support.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used to create a compost and garden program to empower campers to be good earth stewards through food waste awareness, sustainability, and gardening. Expenses include program staff, 4 food waste bins, starter compost, plant identification signage, and plant starters.

Skagit Valley YMCA – Sedro-Woolley – April 28

The mission of the Skagit Valley Family YMCA is to create positive community change through relationships by empowering the mind, body, and spirit of all. The Y is a cause-driven organization focused on three key areas: youth development, health, living, and social responsibility.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used to support the Skagit Valley Family YMCA's new Sedro-Woolley Rec Center, which acts as a dedicated safe space for youth ages 12-17 to gather after school for free, supervised activities and connection to resources and services.

Concrete Farm to School – May 26

The mission of Concrete Farm to School is to build resilient students and families by providing access to healthy local foods, nutrition and culinary education, and hands-on gardening activities.

Concrete Farm to School’s goal is to invite Concrete students and families into a local food system.

This funding is critical to support the program as Concrete Farm to School moves towards self-sustainability. With increased produce sales, Concrete Farm to School can build an internal funding stream that will ensure the long-term viability of the program for students and families.

Food to Go – June 23

Food to Go is a weekend backpack food program serving children in the Anacortes School District.

Food to Go packs about 400 bags for children and are currently suppling granola bars and apples to Anacortes High School and Cap Sante High School. Food to Go has returned to delivering bags to the schools for elementary students but is also home delivering some bags for older students. Funds from 4% Friday will be used to purchase food for children.

Skagit Gleaners – July 28

Skagit Gleaners' purpose is to provide food, household merchandise, and clothing to frugal, waste-conscious, and working families. Skagit Gleaners does this by rescuing surplus food and products from local businesses, keeping such items out of overflowing landfills.

Skagit Gleaners will use funds from 4% Friday to purchase more culturally appropriate fresh produce from local Mexican-Indigenous farm owners during high harvest months, which is when Skagit Gleaners’ sees a concentration of seasonal farmworkers using its services.

Community to Community – August 25

Community to Community (C2C) partners with farmworkers to develop cross-cultural awareness, restore justice to food, and promote community relationships.

4% Friday funds will be used to cover the costs of two interactive workshops for farmworker women and their children. The workshops will highlight the importance of healthy food and disease prevention, and will include a hands-on collective cooking session of a full meal with culturally appropriate foods using local and organic ingredients to further promote healthy cooking methods.

Mount Vernon Police Department Homeless Outreach – September 22

The Mount Vernon Police Department’s Integrated Outreach services focus on providing outreach and aid to the Skagit Valley homeless population.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used for incidentals – food, temporary housing, medical expenses, transportation to treatment, prescriptions, and costs involved in replacing important paperwork.

Underground Ministries – October 27

Underground Ministries provides community support, reentry accompaniment, and a growing list of services including employment, driver’s license fees and training, housing, assistance in leaving gangs, addiction treatment, and familial reconciliation.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used to support the Underground Ministries community and families. This includes settling those newly released from incarceration with adequate housing, removing fees/holds on driver’s licenses, purchasing groceries and hygiene products, and providing those tools for work upon exit from gangs, abusive relationships, and other areas of need in the Skagit Valley.

New Earth Recovery – November 17

New Earth Recovery offers safe, high-accountability, and substance-free housing for women and men who want to maintain their sobriety and find healing from wounds that have contributed to cycles of addiction.

Funds from 4% Friday will be used to strengthen New Earth Recovery’s garden internship flower share membership program. This includes establishing more perennial varieties in New Earth Recovery’s cut garden area, purchasing any seeds that can’t be donated, re-covering a greenhouse, and investing in longer-lasting tools.

Immigrant Resources and Immediate Support (IRIS) – December 22

The Mission of IRIS is to connect immigrants with existing resources in the community and provide immediate assistance to those experiencing a temporary period of crisis.

100% of the funds from 4% Friday will be used for direct support to IRIS’ recipients. Some examples include partial or full rental payments for those unable to pay due to crisis or potential eviction, shopping trips at Goodwill to purchase basic needs, and shopping trips to grocery stores to purchase culturally appropriate food and hygiene items.