Yavapai Food Bank Director Ann Wilson said the surge in requests for help over the past two months had her a bit concerned about whether food bank volunteers would be able to put Thanksgiving feasts on the tables of all the families in the quad-city area who could not otherwise afford to do so today.
But thanks to local residents pulling their resources together, Yavapai Food Bank met their goal and there are many happy families thankful today for the generous spirit that makes the Greater Prescott Area a great place to live.
"We had a real concern because of the increased numbers but you know, when we got the word out that there are more people coming to us for help than ever before and people are trying to find jobs and can't find them, it seems like the community has just really stepped up to the plate and been more generous than ever," Wilson said. "I know that a lot of the people who are coming through our lines probably donated to us in the past but these are hard times.
"It seems like the community is aware of this and a lot of these people coming to us for help could be their friends or even their family members," she said. "Donations of food have increased over previous years, and it's a good thing because donations of money are down and we use the money we get to buy food. It just seemed to all work out better than we had even imagined. It was tremendous."
Wilson attributes the record-breaking number of 2,000 turkeys donated through the annual Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce Flying High Turkey Drive at Fry's Food Stores in Prescott and Prescott Valley Monday as the primary catalyst for meeting the needs of the hungry in this community. She said she set a high donation goal of 2,300 turkeys because she always tries to get more than she thinks the food bank will actually need to provide. "I never thought we'd actually get anywhere close to reaching that goal but we did. It's so amazing how people have helped us out. It's just wonderful!
"Usually, the Turkey Drive helps us get close to what we need but I end up calling around the different grocery stores and seeing where I can get the best deals to purchase the rest of what we need to put together the Thanksgiving meals," she said. 'But this year I don't have to do that and I can focus on organizing and distributing what we have collected."
Wilson said the Yavapai Food Bank gave at least 1,000 turkeys to other food banks and social service agencies throughout the county but the more than 2,200 turkeys collected in this area will go to local families.
She points out that mail carriers also brought in around 30,000 pounds of non-perishable goods this week through their collections from mail boxes last Saturday and this food will not only help augment the Thanksgiving baskets but help families carry through after the holiday into next week.
Additionally, food drives by local civic organizations, businesses and school kids have helped fill the shelves at the Yavapai Food Bank and assist volunteers in meeting the ever increasing call for help.
"The number of people needing help is higher than it ever has been before," Wilson said. "Two weeks ago, we broke all our records and served 150 people in one day. We had 198 people come in Tuesday but we're only open two days this week. Two years ago, if we exceeded 80 families in a day we thought it was quite a bit. But we keep getting more people in and we're doing everything we can to help them out."
Yavapai Food Bank will be closed today and tomorrow. However, Wilson anticipates people will be lining up at the doors for help again next week. Anyone wishing to donate non-perishable goods or money to help the needy may call 775-5255, drop by the food bank or send a check to Yavapai Food Bank at 8866 Long Mesa Drive, Prescott Valley, AZ 86314.
All donations are appreciated, even the donation of time to help fill the food boxes, says Wilson.
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