Families aren’t the only ones preparing for Thanksgiving.
The State College Food Bank, located at 1321 S. Atherton St., is stocking its shelves to meet increased needs around the holiday season and provide the 784 households that it serves with two special holiday distributions.
Eligible clients receive 12 visits to the food bank every year with 30 days in between each visit, but the food bank offers additional distributions for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“We just want to make sure everyone gets a nice holiday no matter what their economical situations is,” said Carol Pioli, the food bank’s executive director.
The food bank also spent $10,000 on turkeys for the Thanksgiving distribution period that began on Nov. 16. This purchase, along with the additional distribution, means the food bank needs more food and financial donations.
Last year, the food bank was able to provide 670 households with Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, according to a food bank newsletter. Each family received about $60 of food, including items to make a traditional holiday meal such as pie crust, pie filling, sweet potatoes, stuffing and a turkey.
Pioli said the food bank doesn’t need specific holiday food donations, but does need high-demand food items such as cereal, salad dressing, peanut butter and hot chocolate.
Bill Torretti, the food bank’s operations assistant, said that the winter season at large bring more clients to the food bank. He said this could have something to do with seasonal jobs coming to an end.
“They may have a job in the spring, summer and fall, and then in the winter the work is not available,” Torretti said.
People are also likely to spend more money on electric, medicine, gas and other bills in the winter, Pioli said, leaving less money for food. An electric company in Indiana reported that the cost of residential electric use in winter is likely to amount $30 more than the summer average, which is about about $80.
“People are really trying to balance their basic needs this time of year and usually the one they drop the fastest is food,” Pioli said. “And you need nourishment to survive; we are here to fill that gap.”
The food bank is looking for more volunteers as the holiday season approaches, according to its website. Pioli said it takes about 100 volunteers to get the food bank through a week of service, but additional volunteers are needed this time of year to sort incoming donations and place them onto storage shelves.
Volunteers can either help with client prep or client distribution. The State College Food Bank has shifted from a pre-packaged distribution model to a client-choice model about a year after moving to its current location. With this new model, clients can browse the food bank’s aisle and select their own food with the help of a grocery assistant volunteer.
“It’s a great job,” said Lynn Rogers, who volunteers as a grocery assistant, in a food bank newsletter. “I’m often able to make suggestions about selections and share some simple meal ideas based on selections.”
Volunteer shifts are available Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1 to 4 p.m. (and until 5 p.m. Mondays). The volunteer application form is available on the food bank’s website, www.scfoodbank.org.
“What I see from our volunteers is they feel like they are making a difference in the community,” Torretti said. “They are in a position where they either have a job or they are retired, they are not in a place of need and they are finding this one way they can give back to their community.”
The food bank serves individuals and families in State College, Port Matilda and many surrounding townships. To qualify to use the food bank, individuals must also receive a referral from an approved agency, which include the Community Help Centre and Salvation Army.
