ShareNet began as a food closet at Bayside Church in 1993, meant to serve the needs of struggling church members. Bayside quickly realized the need was much larger than expected. Bayside purchased a trailer for the church parking lot to serve anyone who showed up. Word quickly got out, and the trailer itself was soon overwhelmed.
In 2007, ShareNet moved to a larger location and opened a thrift store to help fund the food bank.
The move was well-timed because in 2008 ShareNet’s client base doubled, then went from 2,000 annual services to over 12,000 in just a few years, increasing every year for most of the next decade, topping 24,000 individual services in 2018.
In 2010, we busted through a wall and added nearly 1,000 square feet for food bank operations.
ShareNet decided to become an official food bank, ensuring it met the criteria for membership in the Washington Food Coalition, the Kitsap County Food Bank Coalition, Northwest Harvest, Food Lifeline, and state and federal programs. Participation in these networks increased our paperwork, but also leveraged the assistance we can provide to our community. Through these networks, ShareNet became the registered food bank for northernmost Kitsap, serving Kingston, Hansville, Indianola, Port Gamble, Eglon and Little Boston, as well as some border addresses in Poulsbo and Suquamish.
We now provide the greater Kingston, WA area with emergency food provision, and screened emergency power and rental assistance for clients faced with service interruption notices or eviction. ShareNet Thrift Store continues to support the food bank and provides clothing vouchers for food bank clients. We also provide a weekend take home food program for school children in four Kingston schools. ShareNet’s board and staff work in cooperation with other organizations supporting those in need of our services.
ShareNet Food Bank provides emergency assistance to Kingston, Hansville, Port Gamble, Indianola, Eglon, Little Boston, and parts of Suquamish and Poulsbo.