Help students fill the bus today

The Fill the Bus food drive will run all day today with most students and school staff volunteers on hand by 9 a.m. The drive will end around 4 p.m.

The following stores and schools are participating:

“ Albertsons, 32nd Avenue and Highway 27, Horizon Middle School.

“ Safeway, Liberty Lake, 1233 N. Liberty Lake Road, Greenacres Middle School.

“ Safeway, near Evergreen, 14020 E. Sprague Ave., Evergreen Middle School.

“ Yoke’s Food, 15111 E. Sprague Ave., North Pines Middle School.

“ Fred Meyer, near Sullivan, 15609 E. Sprague Ave., Bowdish Middle School.

The student volunteers will be collecting food donations. Holiday meal items are needed for the food bank, including turkeys, canned cranberries, canned fruit, olives, canned pumpkin, evaporated milk, potatoes, cake mixes, chicken broth, brown sugar, canned vegetables, packaged or canned gravy and Jell-O.

Last year, the drive brought in $1,100 cash and more than 10,000 pounds of food to support the Spokane Valley Food Bank. Valley Kiwanis members and Key Club members at Central Valley and University high schools are also involved in the Fill the Bus campaign.

For more information, call the food bank at 928-7769.

Thanksgiving

Jenny’s Cafe offers free meal

A free Thanksgiving dinner will be served to needy families Wednesday at Jenny’s Cafe in Spokane Valley.

Owner Jenny Bennett said she’ll serve turkey with all the fixings beginning at 4 p.m., two hours after her breakfast and lunch cafe closes for regular business.

“It goes until 8 p.m. It’s a full turkey dinner, and we will have pickup service available for people if they call two days ahead to let us know they need it,” Bennett said.

In past years, Jenny’s has cooked as many as 20 turkeys and fed 350 people. Bennett started offering the free meal before Thanksgiving in 2003, but had to skip the meal last year because she gave birth to a daughter.

Reservations are not needed. Jenny’s is at 9425 E. Sprague Ave., roughly two blocks east of the Sprague Avenue-Mullan Road intersection. Anyone who needs a meal is invited. To reserve a ride, call 928-8055 before 2 p.m. Monday.

Holiday closures

Libraries, city offices to close

Government offices and libraries will be closed Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

City of Spokane Valley offices will be closed Thursday and reopen Monday morning. There will not be a City Council meeting the following Tuesday.

Liberty Lake city offices, the city’s golf course and library also will be closed Thursday and Friday.

All libraries in the Spokane County Library District will be closed Thursday and Friday.