Thieves snatch computers from CK food bank

A pair of recent computer robberies — one in CK, the other in Bremerton — have hit non-profits hard.

The Central Kitsap Food Bank was hit by thieves Thursday night, Sept. 5, and robbed of $6,000 worth of computers and related office equipment. AGAPE Unlimited/Alcohol & Drug Program in Bremerton was hit Sept. 1 when computers and related electronic equipment were snatched.

• Christine Bolinger, director of the CK Food bank at 3790 N.W. Anderson Hill Road, Silverdale, thinks the thief or thieves hid in the ladies room until the food bank closed Thursday, then ransacked the place of computers, a copier, and records on clients, as well as back-up disks.

Even though she thinks the thieves hid inside, the door to the facility was also jimmied.

“We closed Friday to do an inventory on what was taken,” said Bolinger, who said no food was stolen. “We’re open again today,” she said when interviewed Monday, Sept. 9. “They even took the digital scale. They didn’t leave anything they couldn’t make 50 cents out of.”

The theft of the food bank’s records disturbed her the most.

“It’s an invasion of people’s privacy,” she said. “No one needs to know which families in the area are in need.”

She wasn’t worried that loss of records would scramble food dispersals — staffers know most of the families pretty well.

The food bank shares space in a building with CK School District, which did not suffer any losses — possibly because it uses steel doors, she said. Since the robbery, the district has supplied the bank with computers and will install steel doors and a security system.

They’ve been great,” said Bolinger about CKSD officials.

The CK Food Bank has been at its present location since 1995. It was established in CK 14 years ago. Bolinger has been director of more than two years. There is a paid staff of three and numerous volunteers.

“Donations have been down lately,” she said, “but our stocks are up ... we’ve been receiving a lot of fresh garden produce.”

The food bank was last robbed in December of last year of $5,000 of checks and cash. The checks were never cashed, she added, so “thankfully they only got away with $300 in cash.”

• Janice Foucher, administrative assistant for AGAPE at 5464 Kitsap Way, said the private, non-profit center providing alcohol and drug abuse assistance was hit by thieves Sunday night, Sept. 1.

“Someone (who worked for us) just happened to came in Monday morning, Labor Day, and discovered we’d been robbed,” she said.

“The took two TV/VCRs, three computers and a zip drive, plus a little petty cash. They took no records or disks,” she said.

She said they weren’t sure how thieves got in. “It might have been a sliding glass door. They went through every office.” File cabinets were jimmied and there was other damage.

She said the police told her there’d been a “rash” of computer thefts lately. Neither Bremerton Police or the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office could be reached by press time for the latest on the robberies.

Foucher described AGAPE as a private non-profit agency that treats chemically-dependent outpatients — as well as provides shelter. It’s been in business 16 years — 15 years at its current location.

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