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Thousands of dollars in food taken from local food bank

SEATTLE — Early Saturday morning someone smashed their way into the Providence Regina House food bank freezer and took more than $3,000 worth of meat.  Organizers discovered the empty freezer as families lined up around the South Park Neighborhood Center, which houses the food bank.

“On a Friday night, before they do the food bank, this whole cooler is filled floor to ceiling with stuff,” said Bill Pease of the Neighborhood Center.

A few blocks away, Bill Owens believes he found some of the frozen food simply left at a laundry mat near 14th and Cloverdale in a black bag.  Owens, who volunteers at the food bank, said he cannot give the meat back because the freezer is broken.

“Several people are going to go hungry this week because of that,” Owens said.

Owens said he was told security cameras at the laundry mat did not capture whoever left the black bag.  Peas said it is the same story at the Neighborhood Center -- no pictures caught on camera.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to call Seattle police.