Program Spotlight: Lopez Food Share
At Lopez Food Share, nourishment is about more than food on a shelf. It is about whole health, dignity, and making sure every neighbor has what they need to thrive.
This year, San Juan County and Lopez Food Share received a grant from the Arcora Foundation to expand healthy food access and encourage positive health behaviors. The grant helps support food purchasing at our local food banks and provides nutrition and oral health education and supplies, recognizing something simple but powerful: the mouth is the gateway to the body.
We are grateful to welcome CHC Snohomish’s dental team back to Lopez Island School District on Monday, April 20 through Tuesday, April 21. For the fourth year, this school-based dental program will provide no-cost dental screenings, hygiene services, and sealants for students from pre-K through Grade 12 whose parents or caregivers opt in. Families must sign up in advance for their child to be seen. We encourage parents and caregivers to complete the consent form as soon as possible.
With support from Catherine Washburn Medical Association and the Lopez Island Hospital District, LIFRC supports dental health for all ages by hosting the DentALL every month in the LIFRC conference room serving over 260 individuals since April 2025. These Community Dental Clinics serve people on Medicaid or who do not have dental insurance and cannot afford dental care. You can fill out the dental application here.
Programs like this make a meaningful difference by removing barriers and ensuring children and adults receive vital dental care. Please help spread the word so everyone who would benefit has the opportunity to participate.
In other news, we wanted to share a few updates about what has been happening at the Food Share. During our most recent reporting period, Lopez Food Share made 148,886 pounds of food available to the Lopez community. Of that amount, 11.7 percent was generously donated and 88.3 percent was program-sourced or purchased, ensuring consistent access to nutritious options.
None of this would be possible without the help of the 25 volunteers who contribute more than 2,060 hours of service. Thanks to them we are able to support 421 unique households and 771 individuals. That means nearly one in four island residents and one in three households accessed Food Share during the last months of 2025.
Sometimes, impact shows up in the smallest, most joyful of ways.
A couple of weeks ago, for example the Food Share assembled bags of healthy snacks for the Lopez Island kindergarten classroom. The students were so grateful that they created handmade signs and thank-you cards and delivered them to our office. Their drawings and bright letters were a simple reminder that access to nourishing food and healthy habits shapes not just bodies, but confidence, connection, and a sense of being cared for.
