Food bank, churches, helped take the edge off a harsh holiday season
It was a tough holiday season for many families left without resources by pandemic layoffs and other woes. But many Gig Harbor area charities and churches stepped up to help.
The Gig-Harbor Peninsula FISH Food Bank distributed food for 22,500 meals to 415 families in December, said Jan Coen, the food bank coordinator. Of those families, 173 said they were out of work because of the coronavirus.
The food bank was able to help because of a surge in donations that brought in $94,500 worth of food.
“This is such a generous community,” Coen said. “We’ve had so many people calling to ask, ‘How can I help?’ “
The food bank helped about 20 percent more people than the previous December, Coen said, an increase she attributed to the economic effects of the pandemic.
“It was definitely more than last year,” she said. “And there were a large percentage of elderly and disabled people needing assistance. Nine of our elderly clients were grandparents raising grandkids.”
The food bank also gave out packages of toys for 660 children and teens, said Lynne DeMichele, the FISH communications coordinators.
Helen Brody, a volunteer, said there were many incidents that touched her heart. In one case, a young girl donated all her birthday presents. In another, a 7-year-old girl collected more than 125 toys from her neighbors and brought them to a fire station for the toy drive.
“Another story comes from one of our toy drive volunteers,” Brody said. “On two different days, the women stopped—with tears streaming down—and expressed their immense gratitude for the toys their children had received in the toy drive bundles. They said they were stunned at the quality and quantity of toys. They were expecting one or two items, but received multiple toys instead, which completely delighted their children.”
The toy drive also received hundreds of toys from the Gig Harbor Lions Club “Giving Tree” program, which enlisted 44 business to collect donations from customers.
Because of the pandemic, food bank clients were unable to “shop” as they had in the past. Instead, said Coen, they were given prepacked bundles, with some items, like meat and fresh vegetables, added at the last minute. Similarly, toys were bundled in “Santa bags.” sorted by ages and numbers of children in each family.
Churches also got involved. At Peninsula Lutheran Church, the congregation adopted several families for a “Twelve Days of Christmas” program that filled in for missing school lunches during winter break.
“It’s something few people realize, but on the Peninsula, roughly 20 percent of children in grades K through 12 are enrolled in the national school lunch program, and that goes away during winter break,” said Bob Shamblin, a church leader who helped organize the drive. “Those kids depend on that program for lunches, and sometimes breakfast, too.”
The congregation targeted two nearby schools, Artondale and Harbor Heights elementaries, and worked with school counselors to identify families who could use help. Then they collected almost 1,000 food items for about a dozen families. The local Fred Meyer grocery story gave the church “huge discounts,” and threw in coupons as well, Shamblin said.
“Our goal was 25 families, but because of restrictions on the number of people who could pack and sort together, we weren’t quite able to reach that,” Shamblin said. “Next year, we hope to do better.”
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 5:30 AM.