ARLINGTON — The Arlington Community Food Bank had a harder time than usual preparing for the start of its Thanksgiving basket distributions on Nov. 20.
After the severe windstorm on Nov. 17 left the food bank without power, like much of the rest of Arlington, its volunteer staff had to cancel their scheduled Wednesday meal distribution to make sure they were fully ready for the Thanksgiving crowds that Friday afternoon.
“We kept the freezer closed, so its contents stayed in the safe range of cool,” said Jerrie Inman, who’s on the food bank’s board of directors. “Still, we had to stop working for the day, because it’s hard to run a forklift in the dark.”
Inman reported that 300 families were signed up to receive Thanksgiving baskets as of Nov. 20, although she anticipated that number would grow during the following week. The food bank does have a number of turkeys in stock, but Inman expected that most of its clients would receive one of the 276 chickens supplied by Volunteers of America this year.
“The average family we serve only has three people, so a whole turkey is a bit of overkill for them,” Inman said. “We want each of our families to get the size of meal that they need.”
To that end, food bank staff has discussed the possibility of stocking boneless turkeys next year, to provide more meat while being easier for families to store and cook.
As the food bank works its way through the winter holidays, Inman listed which food items are most in demand, and which ones are already in plentiful supply.
The food bank has pasta, but not enough pasta sauce. It has enough peanut butter, but it could use more jelly to accompany it.
And it doesn’t need any more soups or cranberry sauces.
“But what we do need are chili, canned fruit and canned vegetables other than green beans,” Inman said.
“Peas and corn would be welcome.”
Inman elaborated that canned meals are useful because “our clients are often busy people who don’t have a lot of time to cook, so anything that they can fix fast comes in handy.”
Even though the American Legion just donated a palette full of toilet paper, Inman noted that more is always appreciated.
“Right now, we have fifteen cases of boxed side-dishes for big holiday meals, which sounds like a lot, but it’s really not,” said Inman, who pointed out that the food bank goes through 20,000 pounds of food every month.
The recently opened Grocery Outlet not only donated $1,000 worth of food, but has also given the food bank discounts on milk, eggs and cereal.
Inman explained that the food bank uses these savings to help fund its “Meals ’Til Monday” for hungry students.
She thanked the numerous schools, churches and businesses that have contributed to the food bank’s second Thanksgiving in its current location, and encouraged those who wish to donate to drop off items at 19118 63rd Ave. NE, during the hours of operation listed on its website at www.arlingtonwafoodbank.org.
