SMOKEY POINT — As the Arlington Community Food Bank heads into fundraising for a permanent building, it recently received much more than a drop in the bucket from the Smokey Point Walmart.

Fritz Fittinger and Carlee Lankhaar of the Smokey Point Walmart presented checks totaling $775.02 to Sharon Moon and Sue Keezer of the Arlington Community Food Bank on the morning of Friday, May 11, to contribute to the food bank’s building fund and other expenses.

“Community giving is a big part of our store,” said Fittinger, manager of the Smokey Point Walmart, who credited Lankhaar with much of the coordination of the store’s fundraising on behalf of the Arlington Community Food Bank. “We’ve moved into a great community that’s wonderfully supportive of its own.”

Fittinger and Moon agreed that Smokey Point Walmart employees have also contributed their time as volunteers at the Arlington Community Food Bank, performing tasks ranging from cleanup to general maintenance, which Fittinger reminded the store employees assembled that morning that they can request to readjust their hours to accommodate more easily into their work schedules.

“We just want to thank them for all their hard work and support,” Keezer said. “Without the generous contributions of groups like them, we wouldn’t be where we are today. They’ve made a huge difference to our community.”

“We welcome them, and anyone else, to visit us anytime,” said Moon, president of the Arlington Community Food Bank Board of Directors, who echoed Keezer’s appreciation while emphasizing that more help is always needed. “Even being able to do the littlest things for us would mean a lot.”

The Arlington Community Food Bank is located at at 18810 59th Dr. NE, and its regular hours of service are from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesdays and from 1-2 p.m. on Fridays. For more information, call 360-435-1631.