Resources

Whatcom County Disaster & Flood Information, click HERE. Check below for more resources.

Immigrant Support – How to Be an Effective Bystander
Click HERE for Dos and Don’ts!

Food and Necessities Resources

In these insecure and unstable times, mutual aid can be imperative for survival. Food banks can be tapped intensively, and alternatives are needed. (The Bellingham Food Bank has already doubled its weekly food spending budget to compensate for the anticipated need, and you can donate at https://www.bellinghamfoodbank.org/give).

Bellingham Food Bank —> Click HERE
Ferndale Food Bank —> Click HERE
Foothills Food Bank —> Click HERE
Lummi Food Bank —> Click HERE
Project Hope Lynden Food Bank —> Click HERE
How to Access Food NOW —> Click HERE
Bellingham Businesses Offering Help —> Click HERE

The grassroots Little Free Pantry movement was launched in 2016 by Jessica McClard in Fayetteville, AR, by placing a wooden box on a post containing food, personal care, and paper items accessible to everyone all the time, no questions asked. She hoped her spin on the Little Free Library®concept would pique local awareness of food insecurity while creating a space for neighbors to help meet neighborhood food needs.

Little Free Pantry: This website is full of information about how to build and stock a little pantry, and more. The mini pantry movement is a crowdsourced solution to immediate and local need, feeding neighbors and nourishing neighborhoods, creating something big from something “little.” It is a way to give without expectations or strings, and to mutually benefit. There are several Little Free Pantries in and around Bellingham. You can find more details on specific locations through local social media groups or the Little Free Pantry interactive map.
Bellingham locations:
St. John’s Lutheran Little Free Pantry: 2530 Cornwall Ave, Bellingham, WA 98225.
Sunnyland Free Pantry: Check their social media for the most up-to-date information, as the exact address may vary but is often in the Sunnyland neighborhood.
Birchwood Neighborhood Pantries:
3248 Firwood Ave
2833 Birchwood Ave
2930 Patton St
3329 Pinewood Ave
3138 Cherrywood Ave
3127 Bennett Dr
3315 Northwest Ave
Behind the ReStore on Kulshan.

Other food resources in Whatcom County include:
Salvation Army: Offers food pantries and meal programs for those in need.
Birchwood Share Spot: A community sharing spot open on Saturdays from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm in the Industrial Credit Union parking lot.
Community and mobile pantries:
Lummi Nation Food Pantry
Whatcom Asset Building Coalition: Lists weekly food bank and mobile pantry distributions throughout the Whatcom County area, including Bellingham, Ferndale, and Maple Falls.
Love2Hope is collecting unexpired canned and non-perishable human and pet food at their every-Sunday “Feed the Homeless and Their Pets” drive. Drop off donations between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. across from the Bellingham Public Main Library at 215 North Commercial Street in Bellingham.

Community Meals:
Bellingham Community Meal: Sundays from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at Assumption Church Gym.
Southside Community Meal: The 3rd Sunday of each month (except Dec., June, July, & Aug.) from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm at 1720 Harris Ave.
Food Not Bombs: Offers free meals on Sundays at 4:00 pm at Railroad St. & Holly St.
Freedge: A community refrigerator and pantry with locations in Bellingham, Maple Falls, and Concrete, stocked with food for anyone to take or leave. https://freedge.org/ Website is full of information about how to build a community fridge, deal with health inspectors, and apply for funds.
More local resources at Findhelp.org, Feedingamerica.org, Buy Nothing Project (on Facebook), and https://www.nokings.org/alliance?utm_source=indivisible

Statewide/Nationwide Resources:

The Washington State Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a free, confidential program that promotes the health, safety, and well-being of public service employees across Washington state. With over 50 years of experience and a diverse group of counselors, we foster an inclusive, caring, and trustworthy environment. EAP offers counseling, finanical, and legal referrals, guidance, and resources. EAP Website:  https://eap.wa.gov/ | Phone: 877-313-4455 | Email: wastateeap@des.wa.gov. EAP’sWork/Lifebenefit is available to WSDOTemployees. Access by visiting: https://helpwhereyouare.com/CompanyLogin/1669/DESWA & logging in with access code: WSDOT
2-1-1 information and referral – dial 2-1-1 or visit WA211.org
Food Resources:  https://wa211.org/resources/food/
Find your local food bank

Go to findhelp.org to find a food bank and other assistance programs near you.

DoorDash is partnering with 300+ food banks and waiving delivery fees for about 300,000 orders between November 1 and 30, 2025. Use the promo code SNAPDD to redeem. This offer is only available to customers with valid SNAP/EBT card numbers.

Statewide: Washington State Department of Agriculture: Access Food Near You

Tik Tok “Dollar Tree Dinners” link: https://www.tiktok.com/@dollartreedinners?lang=en

CLICK HERE to download the “Missing Paycheck” financial strategies tool. For
additional Financial Coaching support, visit: https://www.uwpc.org/center-strong-families-csf

WIC/SNAP Updates – for the latest benefit info:
SNAP
WIC
Health Department- Family Resource  Centers
Department of Social and Health Services Shutdown FAQ

Indivisible Bellingham Immigrant Support (IBIS)

Indivisible Bellingham Immigrant Support is made up of six lead members and several volunteers dedicated to providing direct support for our immigrant community in three key areas:

Accompaniment: Providing transportation and support for a wide range of needs, including DHS hearings, ICE check-ins, medical and legal appointments, shopping, and other errands. Volunteers with non-English language skills are especially helpful in this role.

Family Emergency Plans: Assisting families in preparing emergency plans, including Powers of Attorney for parental wishes and temporary guardianship. Language support is often essential for this work.

Community Events: Attending immigrant community gatherings such as Know Your Rights trainings, notary services, and resource fairs. Our presence demonstrates solidarity and helps with logistics such as set-up and childcare. Language skills are useful but not required here.

We actively collaborate with local organizations supporting immigrant support. Our Community Partners include:
WAISN – The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) is a statewide immigrant-led coalition that is building a strong justice movement to dismantle oppressive systems and ensure that the rights and dignity of all immigrants and refugees are upheld. As well as educating and organizing, WAISN manages Rapid Response and Accompaniment programs throughout the state. If you see a confirmed ICE or Border Patrol action or presence, call the WAISN hotline 844-724-3737, from 6:00 am – 6:00 pm Monday through Friday. If there is no response during or after these hours, please send a text to the hotline number.

IRIS – Immigrant Resources & Immediate Support responds to the urgent and unmet needs of immigrants in our communities in Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish Counties. Wrap around services are offered in coordination with other immigrant-serving providers and organizations. Most of the requests for IBIS assistance with accompaniments in Whatcom County come from IRIS. Donations are welcome and greatly appreciated. IRIS – Immigrant Resources Immediate Support

WFCIS – Whatcom Faith Community Immigrant Support team is a coalition of many faith communities in Whatcom County. They have organized a food pantry where needed items may be donated. It is then boxed up and delivered to immigrant families throughout the County, especially those impacted by ICE detentions.
For more information, contact us using our Contact page.

The Washington Indivisible Network is a way for local Indivisible chapters in Washington to pool resources and take action at a statewide level. You can follow WIN on Facebook and YouTube.

Take Action Network (TAN)

The Take Action Network, or TAN, enables members of organizations like Indivisible Bellingham to easily interact on bills, town halls, voting campaigns, and other important community issues being promoted by a variety of Washington state progressive organizations.

TAN is like having your own personal assistant for progressive action.

We encourage ALL members to start using TAN immediately – it’s the quick, easy way to engage and increase your political influence with your representatives and your community.

The Washington Indivisible Legislative Action (WILA) team is tracking legislation and creating easy actions via Take Action Network (TAN) that will show your legislators your support for great bills and opposition to bad bills. Take a few housekeeping steps and get ready to join others around the state.

If you already have a TAN account:

  • To ensure that TAN emails arrive in your inbox. After signing into TAN, click HERE and follow the directions. That’s it. You should be set to receive action emails from TAN.
  • If you’ve moved or changed Legislative or Congressional districts you may need to update them in TAN. From the Contact Info menu (drop down from person icon in upper right of TAN) review and correct your address and districts if necessary. Then click Update Info at the bottom to save your info.

If you’re new to TAN:

  • Click HERE and follow the instructions to learn about TAN and accept an invitation to join from more than 60 Indivisible groups.

TAN Trainings:

  • Get a quick start on making the Take Action Network (TAN) a mainstay for your daily or weekly activism. Attending an informative, fun, one-hour seminar on Zoom will get you using TAN immediately. Learn more and sign up for a session HERE.

Create or log in to http://www.leg.wa.gov.

  • Whether you use TAN, another organization, or both to take your actions, if you create an account on Leg.wa.gov, your sign-in actions will be saved to help you keep track so you don’t accidentally duplicate. Additionally, you can modify sign-ins if you changed your mind or made an error. To do this, follow the instructions on the Create a leg.wa.gov account to keep track of your sign-in actions TAN page.

Be a super-activist: Don’t miss a single WILA action. TAN provides a search capability that can email you all the actions created by WILA.

  1. Click HERE to go to the TAN WILA About page.
  2. Scroll way down to the bottom of the page and click the “WILA Legislative Actions To Do” link – this will add a search to your TAN dashboard.

Each day, any new WILA actions (that pertain to your district) will be emailed to you for quick and easy action.

Washington Indivisible Legislative Action (WILA)https://www.youtube.com/@WashingtonIndivisibleNetwork

When the state legislature is in session in Olympia, WILA bill trackers make sure Indivisibles from around the state are contacting their legislators to advance progressive legislation.

Here is the Take Action Network (TAN) dashboard of statewide actions when the legislature is in session. Read more about TAN and how you can join, below.

Washington Indivisible Schools Group

The Schools Group exists to support public education in Washington.

Sign up for the next activist call with partner organization Washington Stop Moms 4 Liberty. Check out the messaging guide. Check out the how to run for school board guide

They Represent Us and They Work For Us

Comprehensive 2024 Directory of Government Officials
(Courtesy of the League of Women Voters)

Indivisible Guide – A Practical Guide To Defeating MAGA

One thing Indivisible organizers know is that every Indivisible group has a role to play, all the time, no matter where you live or who your representative is. 2024 will require us to be present at all levels of government, from local village boards, to state legislatures and governors’ mansions, to senators, and the White House. If that sounds overwhelming, we’ve done the hard work of figuring out how to make it simple for you. According to our NEW guide, we need two big things:

  • We need to hold MAGA Republicans accountable for their extremism. That means forcing that extremism to the fringe and ensuring they pay the political price for it.
  • Democrats need to show up as fighters. We need them to tell a coherent and compelling core story about what it means to be a part of our coalition and refuse to collapse into passivity in the face of Republican extremism.

Check out the new Indivisible Guide. Use it to think about tactics we can use to work with your MoC (members of Congress) and build momentum in 2024.