Baskets of Thanksgiving

OLYMPIA – The need this holiday season can be measured in city blocks.

Dozens of people lined up Monday morning for about a block and a half at the start of the Thurston County Food Bank’s annual Thanksgiving basket giveaway.

They ranged from the homeless and unemployed to working poor and college students.

“It makes the Thanksgiving for us,” said Shelly Edwards of Lacey. “Otherwise we wouldn’t have one.”

People in line – nobody is turned away – get turkey or chicken and all the trimmings.

The demand for the food bank’s services is up about 20 percent over last year, said Robert Coit, executive director. He said 37 percent of food bank clients are working.

About 1,600 turkeys of various sizes will go to the needy this year, Coit said. Smaller households will get sliced turkey and gravy instead of a full bird, to reduce waste. Just short of 6,000 individuals were served Monday. Vegan baskets with Tofurkey are also available, as are those for diabetics.

More turkey baskets will be distributed from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday. The food bank address is 220 Thurston St. N.E., Olympia.

“It’s not too late,” Coit said. “If I have to go buy a few more (turkeys), I’ll buy a few more.”

“I think it’s really fantastic,” said Holly Irons, a freshman at The Evergreen State College, “for a college student like me.”

She said she has school loans, and the cost of living adds up. “This should be my Thanksgiving dinner,” she said.

Tina Inman of Olympia said she lost her job as a baker when J.J. North’s restaurant shut down a few months ago, and she hasn’t been able to find work.

“There’s nothing out there,” she said. And unemployment isn’t enough to get by.

“If it wasn’t for this place, me and my husband and kid would starve to death.”

Coit said to shorten the line at the food bank – which was much longer last year – the food bank is also distributing baskets through other groups such as Behavioral Health Resources and the United Community AIDS Network. There are also 11 satellite sites to deliver food.

Coit said the food bank purchases most of the food for Thanksgiving from monetary donations, rather than using donated food. That’s because not enough people donate traditional Thanksgiving foods.

The economy is putting people in the food bank line who have never been there before. Coit said 10 percent of them in a recent survey reported it’s their first time using it, a statistic he expects to climb. He’s hearing a lot of clients are having a hard time paying their mortgages.

The food bank is always looking for donations of money and food. Coit said it especially needs nutrient-dense foods such as tuna, peanut butter, canned stews and meats.

“It’s a fragile system,” Coit said. “It’s a good system, but it’s fragile, and it’s stretched to capacity.”