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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Food Bank Bustle Donations At Crucial Time Are ‘Just So Overwhelming’

Laura Shireman Staff writer

Six people waited in the Post Falls Food Bank lobby as volunteers scurried to stuff shelves with canned food and help elderly patrons pile groceries into their cars.

The freezers were so full that food bank manager Cathy Larson didn’t know what to do with the frozen vegetables and french fries a local store had offered.

And every couple of minutes, a volunteer would pop into her office or a client would call, each with questions ranging from who qualifies for food assistance to how to handle address changes.

It was one week before Thanksgiving - and this was supposed to be Larson’s vacation day.

“It’s just been a madhouse in here,” Larson said.

Not that she minds.

With food donations on the rise, area food banks are able to serve more clients than last year. Unfortunately, the banks still aren’t able to meet all of the needs all of the time, and the food shortage increases around the holiday season.

Before Nov. 16, it looked as if it would be a hungry holiday for some Post Falls Food Bank patrons.

Someone - Larson declined to name names - backed out on a promise to deliver a load of turkeys. Local grocery stores, charitable organizations and individuals stepped in and donated even more than they already had.

“It’s just so overwhelming,” Larson said. “There are so many people out there who want to help us.

“We’re probably going to double the amount we’re going to serve. We did 50 baskets last year, and we’ve done 80 so far this year.”

Donations to the Kootenai Food Bank at the Community Action Agency in Coeur d’Alene rose by about 15 percent for Thanksgiving, estimated Eric Weimar, inventory clerk for the food bank. That allowed the bank to serve Thanksgiving baskets to about 150 families, said Ken Jensen, program manager.

Mounds of frozen turkeys and hams waited in the facility’s walk-in freezers and volunteers placed canned goods on tall shelves in the main part of the warehouse.

For the first time in the Spirit Lake Food Bank’s history, it had enough money to hand out Thanksgiving baskets - 24 of them, said Shirley James, president of the food bank.

The 658 pounds of food the community donated in time for the holidays help, she said.

“I had six or eight shelves that were bare, so this just came in at the right time,” she said.

The Athol Bayview Careywood Food Bank spent about $5,000 distributing more than 100 Thanksgiving baskets, said director Charlotte Hooper.

“We’ve had a good response and we need to continue to have a good response,” she said. “On a monthly basis, we give out to about 500 people.”

The Rathdrum Food Bank had newly full shelves in time for Thursday.

“It’s gotten better for the holidays. It was pretty scarce,” said volunteer Bonnie Nevarez.

“It should be this way all the time because there is this much need all the time,” said fellow volunteer Lori Wymer.

All the food banks constantly need food donations - literally the meat and potatoes of the organizations, Jensen said.

“This warehouse was empty two months ago,” he said as volunteers stuffed more food onto the shelves.

“We’re relying on community support to run this food bank.”

By Tuesday evening, the Kootenai Food Bank had 170 turkeys and hams to give away, but there were more than 230 families who needed assistance for the holiday.

At the Spirit Lake Food Bank, six families who had requested Thanksgiving baskets would go without.

The Post Falls Food Bank had to turn down at least 30 requests for the baskets, Larson said, adding that the food bank might hand out more today.

On top of the food need, the banks often need more volunteers.

“A lot of the volunteers, they’re putting in 30- to 40-hour weeks,” Larson said.

Mallie Stockton volunteers four or five hours a day five days a week in Post Falls.

“Sometimes, we’re just busy waiting on people all day,” she said.

But despite the long hours, the needs of the clients keep volunteers coming back.

“A lot of them (clients) are senior citizens on a very set income,” Larson said. “Usually their income is around $300 to $500 a month. Some get a little more.”

Some receive federal assistance, she said, but “most of our people are working families who just can’t make it on minimum wage.”

One client of the Rathdrum Food Bank said she has trouble financially when her husband, a carpenter, can’t work. Last week, for example, he couldn’t work for two days due to rain.

The combination of her husband’s weather-dependent income, taxes due at Christmas and her two children needing lunches in a school district that doesn’t provide them “makes it hard,” she said.

The seasonal nature of the timber industry and similar industries exacerbates the need for food, Wymer said.

But even when such industries are at their peak employment at other times of the year, food banks still need help.

“After the holidays, people will be tapped out, and rightfully so, because they’ve already given,” Jensen said.

“But hunger doesn’t take a vacation.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: FOOD BANKS Kootenai Food Bank: 4142 Industrial Ave. East at the Community Action Agency in Coeur d’Alene, 664-8757. Post Falls Food Bank: 1420 E. Third in Post Falls, 773-0139. Rathdrum Food Bank: Main at McCartney, 687-0482. Spirit Lake Food Bank: Spirit Lake Civic Center, 623-3107. Athol Bayview Careywood Food Bank: community center in Athol, 683-2101.

This sidebar appeared with the story: FOOD BANKS Kootenai Food Bank: 4142 Industrial Ave. East at the Community Action Agency in Coeur d’Alene, 664-8757. Post Falls Food Bank: 1420 E. Third in Post Falls, 773-0139. Rathdrum Food Bank: Main at McCartney, 687-0482. Spirit Lake Food Bank: Spirit Lake Civic Center, 623-3107. Athol Bayview Careywood Food Bank: community center in Athol, 683-2101.