Need Help? Call FISH
360-636-1100
Free food 9 a.m. to noon
Other needs: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
FISH is an all-volunteer
nonprofit that provides
immediate assistance
to thousands annually
Need Help? Call FISH
360-636-1100
Free food 9 a.m. to noon
Other needs: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
FISH is an all-volunteer
nonprofit that provides
immediate assistance
to thousands annually
Fresh fruit and vegetables are available at FISH churches
FISH of Cowlitz County is not a traditional food bank. Instead of distributing food from a large storage warehouse, it partners with eighteen churches throughout Longview and Kelso that give away food five days a week.
Each church manages its own food program, but all abide by the same nutritious, well-balanced menu of more than 14 items. Their common goal is to give each household enough food to feed every person in the house three meals a day for three consecutive days.
FISH pays for meat, eggs, milk, peanut butter, bread, canned fruit and mac and cheese. Each church also buys food. Regional food banks, 30th Avenue Safeway’s food rescue program and local donations round out sources of food.
People needing food call the FISH helpline (360-636-1100) in the morning, from 9 a.m. to noon. A volunteer working from home records the number of senior citizens, adults and children in each household and emails a list to the church. Volunteers there customize each order based on household size and ages. People are given a pickup time to even out the distribution process.
FISH’s churches vary in size and resources. Five of the 18 are able to distribute food six or seven times a year. Eight serve from 12 to 15 times. The remaining five are open to FISH clients from 19 to 28 days a year. In a typical year, FISH churches are open for business 249 days. On 128 of those days, FISH clients go to one of the seven churches in the vicinity or Lake Sacajawea. The other seven Longview churches serve a total of 70 days. The four Kelso churches serve 51 days.
FISH’s food program had its third consecutive record-breaking year in 2025. Our churches filled 8,604 orders for 34,665 recipients. Also setting a record was FISH’s food bill, which topped $196,000. That is 40% higher, in part, because 2025 was the first full year that expanded menus were in place. In 2024, the FISH Board voted to buy more milk, meat, eggs, bread and other staples for FISH churches. Amounts were based on family size, and last year was the first year the household average nudged just above four persons. Rising prices also added to FISH’s food bill.The steep drop in spending and recipients in 2021 was during Covid, when the federal government boosted SNAP benefits and mailed pandemic relief checks. Fewer people needed food banks then.
This chart shows annual spending and daily averages of people served in the past 10 years. In 2025, FISH churches served 139 people on average — 10 more per day than in 2024.