By LEAH WEATHERSBY

Rita Anderson is on a crusade.

As the executive director of North Helpline, a non-profit which provides emergency assistance of all kinds to North Seattle's neediest residents, Anderson is used to supporting the community.

But on Jan. 1, when the food bank North Helpline most often referred clients to was taken over by a Hopelink, also a non-profit, Anderson realized her group would need some support of its own.

Hopelink now runs the Neighbors In Need food bank at 2002 NE 150th St., just a few blocks outside of Seattle.

North Helpline has been sending clients to Neighbors in Need for 12 years.

The Food Bank was originally founded by individuals working out of the basement of the Haller Lake Community Club before moving to it's Shoreline location. Since its inception, it has been largely funded by donations from North Seattle residents, Churches, and organizations. The volunteer citizens who ran the Food Bank for many years grew older and decided they could no longer do it all alone. That's when they asked Hopelink to take over.

However, now that the Food Bank is operated by Hopelink, Seattle residents can no longer be served. According to Win Hogben, director of emergency services at Hopelink, much of the their government funding is earmarked for King County, excluding Seattle. Seattle is often treated separately from the rest of King County because it is such a large area. There are already food banks operating on Aurora Avenue, in Fremont, and in the University area. However, Neighbors in Need served Northeast Seattle.

According to the City of Seattle's Department of Housing there are about 2,500 people in low-income housing in the 98125 area code, the zip code covering much of Northgate and Lake City. Food banks, Anderson said, keep people from becoming homeless because they no longer need to chose between buying food and paying rent. According to North Helpline, without a new food bank, North Seattleites will eventually have to travel to the University District or Greenwood.

Currently, Hopelink continues to provide food for North Seattle residents, but Anderson hopes that North Helpline will soon be able to establish their own food bank in the 98125 area. Anderson said that Food Lifeline, Northwest Harvest and the Fremont Public Association are ready to support a Northeast Seattle food bank by providing food, all North Helpline needs now is a building between 2,000 and 5,000 square feet where food can be dropped off and stored.

"People have said 'once you get a place we're there,'" Anderson said. "You can't believe how wonderful people have been."

According to Deirdre Grace, Northeast sector manager for the Department of Neighborhoods, the Lake City Neighborhood Service Center is one possible location for the food bank for the short term.

"We are hoping to model the set-up after the Fremont Public Association's Wallingford arrangement, on a smaller scale," Grace said. "(It would) take up very little room, be very compatible with other uses at the NSC, and displace no one." Grace said that the new food bank could open as early as this fall.

In the meantime, Hogben said Hopelink will be helping out North Seattle residents until North Helpline's food bank is up and running.

"Knowing Rita and her enthusiasm, it'll come to be," Hogben said. "I don't have any doubts about that at all."

For more information about North Helpline, call 365-8043. (