Food bank ensures 250 Anaconda families will have plenty on the table for Christmas dinner
Top: The Raymond G. Hunthausen Center at Holy Family Church is looking packed full of Christmas baskets, 250 in all, on Tuesday that were provided by the Project Care Food Bank for families in need. Middle: A close-up view of the baskets. Above: Volunteers busily assembled the baskets Monday night. Leader photos: Nikki Johnson
This Christmas, 250 Anaconda families signed up for the annual holiday food box program, a community tradition of the Project Care Food Bank that goes back to the early 1980s.
Each box contained 10 lbs. of potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberries, canned beans and corn, dinner rolls, and cake mix and frosting for dessert. There was also cereal and canned fruit for breakfast the next day.
Every box was also accompanied by a certificate to pick up a free turkey at Albertson’s in addition to a $25 Albertson’s gift certificate to buy any other food they needed.
Organizer Terry Vaughn wished to acknowledge the great teams of volunteers that give their time and energy so freely.
“We had one group that picked up all the food at the stores and brought it to Holy Family Church. Then we had another group that filled all the boxes that evening. Then we had a third group that handed them out the next day. So, it took a lot of volunteers and they’re all just great to have,” Vaughn said.
The Christmas baskets were made possible by thousands of dollars in donations, including from the annual Soup and Bread Dinner and from the Town Pump Charitable Foundation – plus of course the labor of all the volunteers.
As for the food bank itself, one volunteer, Tom Curry, has been lending a helping hand for five years. He explained why he has continued to consistently volunteer over the years.
“Giving back and paying forward is a really big deal for me. It’s what I like to do,” Curry said. “I almost died and the good Lord saved me, that’s why I like to do that.”
He said that helping people is rewarding, but he still wishes there was more that he could do – especially for the larger families.
“Everybody’s very nice. They’re polite. It’s easy. It’s very well organized and it just runs like a clock,” he explained.
“This is well organized. It’s a small space,” he said, pointing to the food bank located in the basement of St. Peters Church. “I’ll bet we had 50 people come through here today.”
When asked how they are able to provide for such a large operation he describes that someone loads up the food while three other volunteers bring the boxes out.
“You get them and you wheel them out. It’s just what you do. You get your exercise that day,” he joked. “Well, you know, we’re just paying it forward.”
The Project Care Food Bank is located at 401 Alder St. (St. Peter's Church, rear entrance) in Anaconda. It is open from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays. For more information, call (406) 559-0247.
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