Ah, fall…when in Juneau a community’s fancy turns to not-so-light thoughts of matchmaking. When cans of crimson cranberries are delivered upon a turkey’s breast.
A pre-Thanksgiving tradition of collecting and distributing food the Saturday before the holiday again saw dozens of volunteers helping out hundreds of households with the delivery of Thanksgiving food baskets by St. Vincent de Paul Juneau and an annual food drive by the Southeast Alaska Food Bank. About 400 baskets were scheduled to be delivered and the food drive typically collects several thousand pounds of donations.
Matching up who’s getting food deliveries each year, how much each address is getting and who’s bringing it there can be challenging, said Chris Gianotti, president of SVDP’s board of directors.
“It’s a moving target,” he said, noting 319 residential addresses are registered for deliveries, but there were 394 food baskets scheduled for delivery since more than one household might be getting a feast at a certain address. Plus, “we have three late signups on top of that” since, while the signup deadline ended earlier this week, the nonprofit will still try to help if extra items are available.
Rachel Ceja makes sure she has all of the items on her delivery list in the parking lot of St. Vincent de Paul Juneau’s Teal Street complex before setting out to deliver Thanksgiving food baskets on Saturday morning. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Volunteers began picking up items for the food baskets from a large truck in the SVDP parking lot just before 9 a.m. and dropping them off a short time later to residents answering doors — a few still sleepy and at least one of whom was surprised to have been signed up by somebody else.
“We’re with St. Vincent de Paul, and we have some Thanksgiving fixings for you,” Larry Gamez, a board member for the nonprofit, said to a woman answering a door in a Mendenhall Valley neighborhood. He handed her a large frozen turkey and two frozen pies, while a companion with him gave the woman a grocery bag packed with stuffing, cranberry sauce and the rest of the feast.
Hams, turkey breasts and tofurkys were also main protein options for the households signing up for the baskets. Collection of food and sorting into parcels for delivery is a cooperative effort between SVDP, the multichurch-affiliated nonprofit Love INC, and other entities.
Gamez, who’s participated in food basket deliveries for several years, said between deliveries he asked for a Mendenhall Valley neighborhood since he knows the area well enough to avoid a lot of guesswork while navigating streets.
Accompanying him was a first-time volunteer, Rachel Ceja, who said it didn’t take much coaxing to become part of the effort.
“He texted me and he was like, ‘Hey, Rachel, I’m gonna go do this. I do this every year. Do you want to do it with me?’” she said. “And I said, ‘Yes. I’ve always wanted to do this and you’re the first person that’s ever asked, and yes let’s do this.’”
A volunteer unloads empty crates in front of Foodland IGA on Saturday morning in preparation for the Southeast Alaska Food Bank’s annual Caring is Sharing Food Drive. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The food bank’s annual Caring is Sharing Food Drive takes place at Foodland IGA and Super Bear IGA between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Dan Parks, general manager for the food bank, said at the Super Bear location about 700 pounds of food had been collected as of about 9:30 a.m., including a large donation of cranberry sauce and other items by the store.
While all donations are welcome, some items are in shorter supply than others, Parks said.
“We buy a lot of the things that are kind of staples, and so we try to always have things like peanut butter, rice and pasta on hand, he said. “Certain things come in less frequently. I don’t get a ton of shelf-stable milk — that’s always nice — (and) canned vegetables and canned fruit especially are always nice. And beans and chili are always a good thing.”
Kelly Moore, a board member of the food bank, was accepting donations from shoppers next to the exit of the supermarket. She said she’s planning to spend Thanksgiving with a partner who works at a youth residential social services program, a continuation of the efforts happening Saturday that represent what she’s thankful for this year.
“What I’m most thankful for is how charitable our community is, not just with the food bank, but with all of our services to our neighbors, whether it’s the food bank or the Glory Hall,” she said. “I’m just really thankful that so many people in this town care.”
Kelly Moore (left), a board member of the Southeast Alaska Food Bank, accepts a crate of donated food from Kalon Herman, 9, at Super Bear IGA on Saturday morning as part of the food bank’s annual Caring is Sharing Food Drive. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Salvation Army’s annual free community Thanksgiving feast from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday
For residents who don’t have a home-cooked Thanksgiving feast in their plans, the annual traditional meal served by The Salvation Army Juneau is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Juneau Yacht Club. Volunteers to help prepare and serve the meal are also being sought.
More information about volunteering, transportation for people in need and other details is available by calling (907) 586-2136.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
