The sun hadn’t even been up an hour on a Thursday morning in early December, but a dozen or so volunteers gathered at the St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in Bellingham were already full of energy.
They bustled around the meeting space filling bags with boxed macaroni and cheese, instant oatmeal packets, applesauce cups and other food.
By the following day, those bags would make their way into the hands of school kids around Whatcom County, courtesy of Wild Bird Charity.
“It’s volunteer-led and volunteer-owned,” said Mark Moder, executive director of Wild Bird Charity. The volunteers ”have such ownership.”
Every week, the Bellingham-based nonprofit gives out bags of food to students around the county. Each bag contains six meals — two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners — and assorted snacks. The group aims to keep kids who may be on free or reduced meals at school fed through the weekend as well.
Moder and volunteers personally deliver the food to schools in six Whatcom County districts the organization serves, where staff distribute them on Fridays to kids they’ve identified as in need.
Wild Bird’s reach has increased exponentially from 88 kids when it started handing out bags in the 2018–19 school year to 892 so far this year as their resources have grown. Founder Mike Mulder left the nonprofit $200,000 in his will when he died in 2021. Moder said the group is now trying to raise enough money to break even every year without reserves, as savings are running low.
Moder took over as executive director in 2021.
The organization is fully funded by donations both in the form of individual contributions and grants from businesses and foundations. It hosts three fundraisers a year, such as the “Sips of the Season” wine-tasting event in November.
Volunteers do the heavy lifting, keeping overhead costs low. They spend an hour on Wednesdays unpacking food and another hour on Thursdays assembling the bags.
Working for Wild Bird is “addictive,” volunteer Cynthia Zaferatos said. From the first time she came, “you could feel the energy. There’s just so much compassion.”
A former teacher, Zaferatos remembers a 6-year-old student and their older siblings hiding on Friday afternoons when it was time to go home because they didn’t have enough food there. Sometimes she would drop food off at their house so she knew they had something to eat.
“It really gets into you,” she said. “You never forget those eyes of kids dreading, knowing they’re going to be hungry.”
This year, the need may be even higher. Blaine School District Family Service Coordinator Julie Butschli said she’s seeing greater numbers of homeless students in the district. Families are also contending with inflated food prices and the end of higher pandemic-era public assistance.
“This is absolutely keeping families going,” Butschli said, referring to the nonprofit. “I cannot speak more highly about what Mark’s doing with Wild Bird and all the volunteers that make it happen.”
Those interested in volunteering for Wild Bird Charity can join others at Bellingham’s St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church from 12:30–1:30 p.m. on Wednesdays to unpack food, or from 8:30–9:30 a.m. Thursdays to put the food bags together.
Sophia Gates covers rural Whatcom and Skagit counties. She is a Washington State Murrow Fellow whose work is underwritten by taxpayers and available outside CDN's paywall. Reach her at sophiagates@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 131.
