MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, Wash — A good update came Tuesday after a van was stolen from a Mountlake Terrace food bank over the weekend.
The Concern for Neighbors Food Bank had its van stolen on Saturday. Around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, a neighbor spotted the van on a side street just a half a mile away from the food bank. The van had been vandalized and trashed inside, but otherwise seems to be salvageable.
Mountlake Terrace police are continuing to investigate.
The Concern for Neighbors Food Bank has a history that runs deep. Founded in 1971 when mass layoffs were happening at The Boeing Company in Everett, it was the first food bank established in Snohomish County.
The group started in the basement of a Mountlake Terrace house and still sits on the same property today.
"We were there when people needed us," said founder Dick Gibson. "We still are."
All this makes what happened here over the past week that much more difficult to comprehend.
"It's just stunned silence," said current Director Mike Begeman. "I can't really understand it."
Security cameras captured a man coming to the food bank parking lot at 3:45 p.m. Saturday, breaking into the organization's van and driving away. The van is clearly marked with the Concern for Neighbors name and phone number.
It was over in less than 60 seconds.
"We're here to help people," Begeman said. "If you need help then come under the right circumstances. There is nothing to gain from stealing. Where is your conscience?"
That's a question many are asking. This is the second time the food bank has been targeted by burglars in the past week.
Last Monday someone broke into the charity's offices, stealing computers, keys and $2,500 in gift cards for the needy. It cost about $2,000 to have all of the locks replaced.
Gibson said in its 50-year history, nothing like this has ever happened before.
"It's a sad world we're living in when people take things from a charity and there doesn't seem to be a way to catch these people," he said.
Concern for Neighbors feeds about 400 people every week. It has seen a 25% increase in need since the pandemic began one year ago.
The stolen van was usually on the road five days a week doing pick-ups and deliveries.
When the van vanished, people from the community stepped up with their own cars, vans and trucks — making sure the work still got done and hungry people still got fed.
"We will be open tomorrow and doing the things we do," Begeman said. "We will not be deterred by this."
Anyone with information about the stolen van or the break-in should call Mountlake Terrace police at 425-407-3999 or the Concern for Neighbors Food Bank at 425-778-7227.