nwasianweekly.com
Jan. 13, 2007

Photo by Carina A. del Rosario/ACRS

Thieves ripped apart the chain-link fence that surrounds
the ACRS Food Bank.

How heartless do you have to be?

Talk about the grinch who stole Christmas.

On the night of Dec. 25, burglars made off with thousands of pounds of rice, salmon, chicken and ramen from the only food bank in the region that caters to the nutrition needs of Asians and Pacific Islanders.

The Asian Counseling and Referral Service Food Bank in Chinatown/International District was hit hard. It normally doesn’t stock frozen fish and chicken; they were meant to be special treats to help needy families start the new year right. In addition, a computer and a printer were taken, a window and fence had to be repaired and the food bank was left a mess. ACRS suffered losses and damages totaling between $6,000 and $7,000.

Instead of passing out an abundance of nutritious and delicious food to needy families, the agency had to scramble to replenish their supplies, repair damages, clean up and figure out how to prevent another break-in from happening. But the people who really bore the burden were the clients of the food bank.

How heartless do you have to be to steal from the poor? These people already have so little that they must depend on the kindness and generosity of others to put food on the table. Why make their lives even harder?

Seniors and children make up most of the nearly 5,000 low-income households that depend on the ACRS Food Bank every year. As agency spokeswoman Carina del Rosario stated, it’s like the thieves stole from their own grandmothers or children.

This was a despicable crime. As far as we’re concerned, the burglars are lowly, selfish and cowardly figures who have little concern for their fellow humans. We hope officials continue their investigation of this crime, as the perpetrators need to be caught. This cannot go unpunished; we don’t want other people thinking they can get away with such deplorable acts.

Anyone who has information regarding the case should call 206-684-4300. Police warn restaurants and grocery stores to be on the lookout for unknown vendors who have frozen chicken or salmon to sell.

Luckily, there are people in this community who do care. In the weeks following the break-in, dozens of people called ACRS to offer cash donations to help the food bank recover. That’s the Christmas spirit in action. If you want to make a donation, visit www.acrs.org or mail a check to ACRS Food Bank, 720 Eighth Ave. S., Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98104.

The food bank has since reopened, but the theft still haunts the community. It’s enough that we have to combat poverty, hunger and homelessness. The theft only makes these daunting challenges even harder to overcome.

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Northwest Asian Weekly • P.O. Box 3468 • Seattle • WA  98114
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