MARYSVILLE — Dell Deierling and his team of volunteers are putting together about 700 bags of Thanksgiving.
The bags are full of food: flour, sugar, stuffing, fruit, vegetables, margarine, milk and eggs. Then there are turkeys and chickens. They try to have a pie for every family, too.
It’s a busy start to the holiday season at the Marysville Community Food Bank, one of a couple of dozen food banks around the county that together serve thousands of people every week.
“It’s shaping up pretty good,” Deierling said of the Thanksgiving bags. “You never know what your demand is going to be until it walks through the door.”
The food bank serves 260 families each week, down about 5 percent from last year. Volunteers also fill backpacks with food for 350 children in Marysville, Tulalip and Lakewood to take home on weekends.
Across Snohomish County, most food banks have seen a about the same number of visitors compared to last winter. Key items are hard to come by this year. Because of shortages in supply, the prices of eggs and turkey are up.
“The dollars that we had set aside aren’t going as far,” said Bill Kraut, director of the Volunteers of America Food Bank in Everett.
In the winter, the food bank goes from serving about 4,500 people per month to 4,800. They need money, baby supplies and basics such as flour, sugar, canned tuna and canned vegetables.
“This is definitely the time of the year when we see a whole bunch of people who don’t come any other time,” Kraut said.
The colder the weather, the busier the food banks, said Judy Finn, director of the Lynnwood Food Bank. Many patrons can’t afford groceries and utility bills or don’t want to choose between food and a gift for their kids.
The Everett and Lynnwood locations are seeing more homeless patrons. Donations of canned food with pop-tops and self-heating meal packs are a huge help, Finn said. Along with food, volunteers hand out hats, gloves and blankets. And there’s always a need for new socks.
“Anything warm this time of year is just wonderful,” she said.
Cash helps because it allows food banks to buy fresh milk, eggs, butter, produce and meat, said Anne Peterson, director of the Concern for Neighbors Food Bank in Mountlake Terrace.
Supplies are lower this year than last, she said. They’ve also seen less demand, but Peterson expects that to change.
“A lot of times someone is on our list and disappears for six months and then comes back and says, ‘I had a job but I lost it,’ ” she said.
Lake Stevens volunteers are putting together more Thanksgiving kits than usual. The most they’ve given out in the past was 200 and this year they’re up to 260 requests.
Six of every 10 people served are seniors or children, manager Anne Anderson said. They work with Hungry Hearts Foundation to fill backpacks with food for students.
At the Snohomish Community Food Bank, rather than holiday packs, families pick out items at stations for baked goods, baby supplies, fresh food and more, director Elizabeth Grant said.
They see 250 families per week, down from 300 last year. She hopes that means people are going back to work.
Local groups pledged to support the food bank this winter. For example, a church is collecting 300 boxes of cake mix and Girl Scouts have promised 100 boxes of instant hot cocoa.
“That’s how we exist,” said Neil Watkins, director of the Sky Valley Food Bank in Monroe and president of the Snohomish County Food Bank Coalition. “The community supports us and we in turn can support those in need.”
Countywide, it seems demand is leveling off, he said. There was a big increase about five years ago thanks to the recession.
The need is still there, though. He reminds people to think of food banks after the holidays.
Darrington volunteers serve as many as 550 people each month, director Cathran Lyons said. The community has been so generous that they’ve had enough to help other food banks.
Salt of the Earth Food Bank, which is based in Everett, tends to have fewer holiday supplies than needed, founder Sandra Richards said. The nonprofit has eight banks and two soup kitchens with a growing demand. Donated hams and turkeys are needed. So are coats, blankets, gloves and hats.
The Stanwood Camano Food Bank has gone from serving a core group of 220 households to 340. Instead of four- to eight-person households, they have more singles or couples, director Lynn Ayers said. Many are seniors on fixed incomes.
A local farm is donating 4,000 pounds of fresh potatoes and churches in the area have teamed up to bake 650 pies, Ayers said.
“A lot of our friends, neighbors and families may be needing an extra hand during this time of year,” she said. “It’s a good chance to reach out, however that may be. There are opportunities to help in every community.”
Kari Bray: 425-336-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
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