Pre-Thanksgiving giving: Food banks; SLHS; Pet Giving Tree

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First, one more pre-Thanksgiving food bank pitch. The West Seattle Food Bank is open till 3 pm today – one more hour – the White Center Food Bank (which serves part of southern WS too) is (THIS IS AN UPDATE) open till 7 pm. You’ve probably seen our pitches to help make sure your neighbors have a happy holiday. Here’s one we received from Rob:

Just wanted to let you know that I spoke to Audrey at the WC Food Bank last night and she said they still need large turkeys, dinner rolls and cranberry sauce. When I dropped off some cranberry sauce this morning they told me that had run out of it altogether.

I didn’t even know there was a WC Food Bank until I read your post mentioning the need for the turkeys and such. A bit embarrassing to say that since I live only about 25 blocks from it, but my point is that I didn’t know and your post made me aware of it. Here’s hoping it opens more people’s eyes.

The WC Food Bank is at 10829 8th SW; directions here. The WS Food Bank is at the southeast corner of 35th/Morgan. (3:01 PM NOTE: We went to WCFB to clarify when they’re open and what they need. Director Rick Jump says they’ve got what they need for holiday distributions and thanks everyone who’s helped. Our note: Both local food banks have a tremendous ongoing demand – donating $ to them online will give them the most buying power, as they have a lot of bulk deals.)

One more story of giving. It’s a tradition for Seattle Lutheran High School students – a day of giving right before the holiday. Today, they’ve been working on a variety of projects around West Seattle – including painting a mural in the nursery at neighboring Hope Lutheran Church/School:

Other groups of SLHS students did work including pulling invasives at Me-Kwa-Mooks and performing music for local elders. ADDED 2:16 PM: One other giving option we meant to mention – it’s among the “ongoing” listings on the WSB West Seattle Holidays page – as of today, there’s a Pet Giving Tree at Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor):

Many other giving trees in West Seattle too – we’re continuing to add to the listings on the WS Holidays page – let us know if we’re missing any!

coffee November 25, 2009 (4:01 pm)

I had remembered that I heard one time that the food banks can get quite a bit more food if there is a cash donation because of their buying power. I know when I shop wholesale the pricing is much less than the grocery store. Its good to know that the cash does go much farther.

WSB November 25, 2009 (4:04 pm)

That’s exactly what I added to the story after we found out they’re not in a crisis situation for tomorrow … but from both food banks, we have heard time and again that demand is SO high right now, they need all the help they can get … everybody who can afford to help, please put them high on your list. And note that we are adding as many giving opportunities as we can find to our Holidays page too – giving trees, food drives, etc. – the list grows daily … TR

JayDee November 25, 2009 (4:36 pm)

Thanks for reminding us – I often forget how fortunate I am despite the sometimes overwhelming noise of real life.
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It felt good to donate the two turkeys when they only cost me a few bucks and will bring someone so much joy, or at the very least a bunch of turkey. I will make a donation to either WSFB or WCFB after T-day.

Beth Grieser November 25, 2009 (5:04 pm)

Rick Jump called me a few minutes ago to thank everyone for their outpouring of generosity! The response after Tracy posted the story on the blog has been overwhelming!! Thank you everyone who donated your time, money and food to help make this Thanksgiving special for so many people. I hope on Monday we will have a count of how many families the White Center Food Bank served.

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