SPOKANE -- This year's Tom's Turkey Drive will make a big difference for thousands of people in need. Employees and volunteers at Second Harvest are already busy keeping up with an increase in clients.
Last year, Second Harvest gave out more than 8,000 Thanksgiving dinners. This year, they are setting the goal even higher because they know the demand will be even greater.
Moving food out of the Second Harvest food bank is a constant job for volunteers. This year, the need for help is up 24%. Many of those first time clients are middle class families hit hard by the economy.
Local farmers have stepped in to help keep up with the demand by donating everything from squash to onions, apples and 15-tons of corn. Local growers are bringing in more than 80,000 pounds of potatoes. That means fresh potatoes will be included in the Tom's Turkey Drive Dinner for the first time.
And for the first time, the bank is hoping to deliver 10,000 dinners, each for a family of four. That means 40,000 people could have a Thanksgiving meal this year thanks to donations. But the pantry still has space, especially for non-perishable and canned goods. Leftovers will be saved for Christmas donations.
<a href=”http://special.krem.com/turkeydrive/10_2009/”>More info on Tom's Turkey Drive</a>
