At the food bank, multitasking is a way of life | Women in Business profile
Published 1:30 am Saturday, March 21, 2026
Submitted by the Orcas Island Food Bank Communications Committee.
IBM coined the word “multitasking” in 1965 to describe the ability of its mainframe computers to process multiple tasks simultaneously. By the late 1990s, the term was commonly used to describe human efforts to do the same.
IBM invented the word, but not the deed. Women have been multitasking for centuries, juggling child care, cooking, housework, work outside the home — the list could go on.
Orcas Island Food Bank staff and volunteers — the majority of whom are women and non-binary people — are currently engaged in strategic multitasking.
While meeting current needs to “Eat Healthy and Thrive,” they are planning to meet the needs of our island community for the next 75 years. We are building a new Food Bank, which, along with 20 OPAL low-income rental homes, will be part of the Pea Patch Community Campus.
We are engaged with our OPAL partners in raising $40 million for the Pea Patch project. With government and foundation grants and a tremendous response from the community, over $31 million has already been raised. We’re confident we can complete the job; we’ve multitasked before.
According to Executive Director Amanda Sparks, the new Food Bank “will have far greater and far more efficient storage capacity, all under one roof, and a commercial kitchen, enabling us to create prepared food and give cooking and nutrition lessons.”
Sparks adds that the new Food Bank will be better prepared for emergencies such as pandemics, earthquakes, wildfires and disruptions of ferry service. She invites islanders to sign up for a tour of the current Food Bank to best understand why the community needs a new one. Please email cali@orcasfoodbank.org.
We’ve multitasked before
When the pandemic struck, businesses closed and hundreds of islanders were suddenly out of work, demand at the Food Bank tripled in just a few weeks.
The Food Bank did not have the option of closing — people had to eat. The Food Bank continued to provide food, in far greater quantities, while making multiple changes (often described as “flying the plane while rebuilding it”). From being open for food distribution 2.5 hours a week, the Food Bank went to 18 hours a week.
With strong community support, ways were found to quickly get and pay for more food. Volunteers 60 and over, thought to be too vulnerable to the virus, were told to stay home; new volunteers had to be recruited. Safety measures had to be incorporated, including masks, partitions, cleaning surfaces and limiting the number of customers who could be inside at one time.
When the pandemic ended, Food Bank staff and volunteers multitasked again. Not a day of food distribution was missed while we made a long-desired change from customers lining up to request foods to a grocery store model, enabling customers to choose their own fresh produce, meat, dairy and packaged items.
With inflation and federal cutbacks to social service programs, including SNAP and Medicare, demand on the Food Bank continues to increase. In 2025, the Food Bank provided 2,100 Orcas Islanders (about one-third of our population) with 412,441 pounds of food. Without the Food Bank, many working people, elders, disabled people and kids would be unable to continue living on Orcas Island.
Food distribution hours: Tuesday, 11 to noon “Golden Hour for ages 65+,” Tuesday, noon to 6:30 p.m. for all.
Thursday home deliveries, Friday 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
For more information, visit orcasislandfoodbank.org or call 360-376-4445.
The Orcas Island Food Bank is located at 116 Madrona St. (PO Box 424), Eastsound, WA 98245.
OIFB is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
