The first Saturday of December marks a special tradition in Clark County. For the past 38 years, thousands of residents set out on a mission to collect donations for the local food bank. Canvasing every neighborhood, they go door to door picking up bags of non-perishable items people have left on their porches. Walk and Knock, as it’s come to be called, is the nation’s largest all-volunteer food drive.

Each bag on its own may contain just a few items, but when combined with the others it often adds up to over 130 tons of food—in just one day! Pulling it off takes careful coordination and large equipment. “Organizationally, we are divided geographically into ten sectors. Each [sector] has a donated semi-truck with driver,” explains Tom Knappenberger, president of Walk and Knock. “When all donations have been brought to the ten trucks, they are driven to the Clark County Food Bank and unloaded and weighed. That’s where we get our final numbers of how many pounds we picked up.”

Walk and Knock: A Community Effort

Families, scouting troops, sport teams, churches and businesses come back year after to year to help. It’s a big commitment, but they get an inside look at what can be accomplished when a whole community comes together.

“We learned about the Walk and Knock when first moving to the area, finding the brown paper bags with instructions for donation day in our mail,” says Amber Karren, a long-time volunteer. “Years later we had Cub Scout groups we were familiar with participate, in addition to family friends we learned had volunteered for many years. In talking with these families, we learned how we could sign up to [volunteer]. That year we had the kids bring a friend or two to help out.” Karren’s kids enjoyed it so much they invited more friends the following year. “Our kids and the youth we’ve had join us have always enjoyed the opportunity . . . They love serving others and look forward to [it].”

Drive and Drop

During COVID, Walk and Knock switched gears to a “Drive and Drop” where people delivered their donations to a drop-off location, reducing the number of volunteers needed. Even though donations were lower than in previous years, “last year we collected 153,743 pounds of the total 261,307 pounds of food from all 2022 food drives received by the Food Bank, meaning Walk and Knock accounted for 58.8% of all food drives in Clark County,” says Knappenberger. “Our big donation helps get them through the winter.”

Now that the traditional Walk and Knock format has returned, volunteers like Karren’s family have jumped back in to help. “We usually get signed up for a route which consists of neighborhoods in our area. When we’re finished with our route or our vehicle is full, we take the food back to a drop location. Sometimes there have been more routes that needed to be finished so we’ve headed back out to keep collecting [and] some years our girls have helped sort items and bags at the food drop location.” She says a typical route can take about two to two and a half hours to complete. 

How It All Began

As Vancouver has grown, so has Walk and Knock, yet it all started with just two men who wanted to help feed those in need. Bud Pasmore and Doug Rae were Lions Club members with a big idea, but little manpower. In the early years, the drive lasted a few days. By the third year, with help from The Columbian newspaper who spread the word, Walk and Knock collected 42 tons of food. Knappenberger shares, “Over 38 years, we have collected 8.8 million pounds of food valued at $15.8 million providing millions of meals for the needy here in Clark County . . . Something Clark County should be very proud of.”

This year, Walk and Knock’s goal is set high which means more volunteers are needed. “I would love to see us get back over 200,000 pounds,” says Justin Wood, immediate past president of Walk and Knock.

Rising food and housing costs means more families are struggling, so keep an eye out for the bag in the mail and sign up to help if you can at walkandknock.org. Or, if your family is in need of help, know that Clark County Food Bank is stocked and happy to help because Clark County residents care about their neighbors.

“Hunger is very real in Clark County. According to the Food Bank, one in four people here are [food] insecure,” shares Knappenberger. “To be a part of [Walk and Knock] requires just a couple hours on a Saturday morning, makes you feel good for the holidays and helps your neighbors who might be experiencing an invisible but dire need.” Karren agrees saying, “This is a great event to participate in. It’s a time for people from the community to work together for a common good.  We love this event and will continue to support it.”

Read the full November 2023 issue below.

Go here to learn about more local volunteer opportunities and organizations doing good.