Students, Rotary bring Thanksgiving meals to Everett’s needy

MUKILTEO — Dozens of students and Rotary Club members turned out Sunday morning to bring Thanksgiving Day dinners to families who can’t afford to buy their own.

The event provides meals to more than 360 families, mostly in South Everett, said Sean Straub, a South Everett-Mukilteo Rotary Club member.

“It is humbling to see the need,” he said.

He recalled one family with several kids and almost no furniture.

A Thanksgiving Day dinner is a luxury they can’t afford, he said.

The club buys the food at cost from QFC, he said.

Club members and students packed the holiday meals into boxes behind the QFC on Mukilteo Speedway. The boxes were then hand delivered by club members to the families.

The families sign up through the Mukilteo School District.

It was cold and sunny when Kat Anderson, a senior at Kamiak High School, showed up at 7:30 a.m. to pack up meals.

That was better than last year when it was cold and raining, she said.

Twenty high school students from Kamiak in Mukilteo and Cascade in Everett boxed dinners on Sunday.

It was a chance to help the community, said Anderson, who is president of Kamiak’s Associated Student Body.

“Some of the students at Kamiak are the ones actually receiving the baskets,” she said.

South Everett-Mukilteo Rotary has been delivering meals for 20 years, said Straub, who has participated every year.

Back then, they dropped off about 50 meals.

“Each year, it seems to grow a little bit,” he said.

Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, estimates that 89,520 people in Snohomish County experienced food insecurity in 2013, meaning that at some point during the year, they did not have enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle.

In recent years, South Everett-Mukilteo Rotary has given away about $12,000 worth of food. Half of the money has come from Rotary Club members, while the rest has been raised at the club’s annual auction.

This year, the club asked the local community to contribute through a new website, www.givethanksgivingdinner.org. People want to help, especially around the holidays, he said.

Raising outside contributions for Thanksgiving Day dinners lets club members do more the rest of the year. For example, South Everett-Mukilteo Rotary donates about 160 pounds of food to Rotary Harvest each time a speaker addresses the club’s weekly meeting.

“The need exists throughout the year,” Straub said.

Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.