As the community readies for holiday gatherings and meals, the need remains steady at the Sequim Food Bank this time of year, organizers said.
This Thanksgiving, staff and volunteers expect to deliver at least 900 turkey dinners to individuals and families in the Sequim area.
“It’s a hearty Thanksgiving meal with a lot of little extras,” said Andra Smith, executive director of the Sequim Food Bank.
The food bank, 144 W. Alder St., holds special hours starting this week opening from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18, Saturday, Nov. 19, and Monday, Nov. 21, to offer meals with a turkey and all the fixings including pumpkin pie, bread, cranberries and more. They’ll provide similar offerings for Christmas from 9 a.m.-noon Dec. 16-17 and Dec. 19.
To receive a meal, visitors must provide proof of residence such as a driver’s license or a piece of mail in the Sequim School District boundaries.
People of all economic levels visit the food bank this time of year, said Stephen Rosales, food bank board president, and many of them tend to be first-timers, too.
“Thanksgiving can be expensive,” Smith said. “We estimate it’s about $45 a box. It’s not just the meal either. It’s everything that comes along with the holidays.”
Rosales said, “No one in Sequim has to go without one either.”
The need for Thanksgiving meals grew so high two years ago he went back and purchased more turkeys and fixings.
Meals come from local grocers, which Rosales said, they try to buy from all of them “because they do so much for us throughout the year.”
This year, the food bank’s staff and volunteers are readying for multiple events including providing some food for the Sequim VFW Post 4760’s Thanksgiving meal for veterans and Trinity United Methodist Church’s annual free meal for the community.
Community meal
Food bank organizers also are partnering with the Olympic Peninsula Healthy Community Coalition to offer its first Sequim Community Thanksgiving Dinner for free. It runs 1-4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 24, in the Sequim Boys &Girls Club, 400 W. Fir St.
Rosales and Smith said it’s something they and other community partners like Dr. Monica Dixon have wanted to offer for a long time.
“It’s a meal for anyone,” Smith said. “It’s about being able to share and not be alone on Thanksgiving. It’s another way for the community to be together.”
The club’s game room will be open and there will be football games on big screens, too.
The event is free but participants are asked to RSVP by Nov. 19 by calling 360-797-0212. Free rides are offered by calling the number.
For more information on the Olympic Peninsula Healthy Community Coalition, visit www.healthyOP.org.
Contact the Sequim Food Bank, 144 W. Alder St., at 683-1205 or 461-6038.
Ethan Richmond, a volunteer for the Sequim Food Bank, carries several bags of food into storage for individuals and families in Sequim to pickup from the facility Friday, Saturday and Monday for Thanksgiving. Staff and volunteers with the food bank anticipate 900 turkeys going into the community from the facility. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
