‘That’s what we’re here for.’ Collaboration helps provide Thanksgiving meals to 425 families
In preparation for the Thanksgiving holiday, the State College Food Bank, Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and State College Area School District teamed up to provide 425 families with a Thanksgiving day meal.
In a drive-through style, three stations were set up in SCASD’s Delta Program parking lot Tuesday evening for cars to easily access, where a group of volunteers put the food boxes in the car. Each household received a turkey, box of non-perishable holiday food, a box of fresh produce, fresh milk and eggs.
Allayn Beck, executive director of the State College Food Bank, said this Thanksgiving for Centre County distribution is for those who aren’t currently clients of the State College Food Bank or another county pantry, but could still use a little extra help around the holidays.
“It also really helps kind of cut down on the stigma of having to get food. So it might be less intimidating for people to come here and drive through, rather than come into the food bank. And if that helps someone get Thanksgiving dinner and eases a holiday burden … that’s what we’re here for,” Beck said.
The Thanksgiving distribution was created last year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and served about 645 families. Beck said she’s not sure the need has necessarily decreased though, pointing to other similar programs happening throughout the county.
A Thanksgiving dinner typically costs more than a normal dinner, and this Thanksgiving could be the most expensive meal in the history of the holiday, according to the New York Times, which reported that “nearly every component of the traditional American Thanksgiving dinner” will cost more this year. Because of this, people who may not typically need help from a food bank year round could benefit from it around the holiday.
Plus, some of the clients they’re serving, at least on the food pantry side, will be able to take and share with their family and not have it be an extra financial burden.
“We don’t want anyone to be stressed out or worrying about Thanksgiving regardless of their situation,” Beck said. “It’s less about whether or not you need it, it’s more about can it make a difference and help you?”
The partnership between the three agencies is important, said Travis Berg, Northern Tier director with the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank.
“It’s important that we teamed up with the State College Food Bank to help distribute this healthy Thanksgiving meal to those that are in need of a holiday meal,” Berg said. “We love to be able to help serve the community and partner with them.”
Megan Schaper, director of the food service department at SCASD, said the drive is an extension of the everyday work they do, so the collaboration makes sense.
“This is our job ... typically it’s to make sure the kids have food to eat and this is just an extension of that, to make sure that families are well taken care of. And what I love about collaboration is, this is open to anybody and everybody. ... This is to help make the holidays better for everybody,” Schaper said.
For anyone who might need help from the State College Food Bank or wants to learn more about it, visit https://scfoodbank.org.
“If people need a holiday food that came tonight or didn’t come today, they should definitely call us. We are not turning away people. We’re here to help,” Beck said.
