It’s the most wonderful time of the year – unless you don’t have enough to eat.
Going without necessities is tough any time of the year, but it must be even more painful when the rest of the community is caught up in a swirl of festivities that cost more than some people bring home in the course of several months.
Snohomish County food bank officials are once again offering the rest of us the opportunity to serve others by making sure their shelves are stocked with goods and enough cash to buy products in bulk. This community has done it before – come to the rescue of those in need – and we must do it again.
News that demand is continuing to rise while donations are going down is discouraging. Donors who normally chip in with big contributions in the form of bulk food or cash have had to bow out or make smaller donations this year. That forces food banks that rely on thousands of dollars in turkey donations, cash and food to face the possibility of putting together smaller grocery bags for families or turning some away. And if the food banks are taking a hit, the people who need that food are hurting even more.
Last year, the late start for the Marysville School District severely undermined student food drive efforts, and local charities felt it. The Marysville Food Bank’s cupboards were nearly bare until others stepped up to fill the need. Last December, the Everett Food Bank was down to 10 turkeys. The Tulalip Tribes and others stepped in with cash to make sure needs were met.
This year, food banks are providing thousands more meals each month and supplies tend to dwindle toward the end of the year. At the Sky Valley Food Bank in Monroe, director Julie Morris told a Herald reporter her agency simply doesn’t have enough turkeys or poultry to meet the needs for next week’s Thanksgiving holiday. Those of us with enough to eat would be in panic at the thought of not knowing how we were going to provide meals for our families next week. Food banks provide tens of thousand of meals a month and don’t know how they’re going to make it to next week.
We all know what to do. Pick up extra food during our routine grocery store visits. Or better yet, give cash to our local food banks who have the buying power to purchase in bulk and make our money go even further than we can.
Snohomish County is blessed to have agencies working on how to help families become self-sufficient. Meanwhile, everyone needs to eat.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
