Gifts from the Heart food bank would like to thank our community for their support in helping us to make the Thanksgiving holiday a little brighter for many families in need on Central Whidbey.  We were able to supply 173 families with all the fixings for Thanksgiving dinner!

Each family received a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, Hubbard squash from Pioneer Farms, rolls, Jello salad, yams, cranberries and a pumpkin pie along with other food to help make ends meet for the rest of the month.  A special thanks to our friends at Prairie Center Red Apple for juggling all of our special orders leading up to the holiday.

Also thanks to Jeannett Wendell, the food services director at the high school who let us store 30 cases of frozen turkeys in the school’s freezer.  A big thanks to the students and staff at the high school who held a food drive in November resulting in over 3,000 items of food. Donations of money and food were also received from many individuals, businesses and service groups and were all put to good use for Thanksgiving.

We served 17 percent more families this year over last Thanksgiving. While the need continues to increase, so does our community’s commitment to supporting those in need. All of the volunteers at the food bank and I would like to say we are very thankful for your generosity.

Molly Hughes
GFTH food bank