When the arrival of 100 frozen geese surprised the Fort Bragg Food Bank just before Christmas, Executive Director Nancy Severy wasn”t sure how well they would be received for the traditional Christmas dinner.
Odd items that end up as leftovers in the larder are some of the concerns the Food Bank deals with. The Food Bank gets surplus commodities from the USDA and it is never sure what fare the truck will bring.
Food Bank patrons were offered a choice this year of a turkey, ham or goose, and any worries turned out to be unfounded.
“The goose dinner was very popular,” said Severy. “We gave them all away and had some turkey left over.”
Sharon Thorp said the Food Bank worked hard to put together a Christmas meal for all who needed it. She said the choice of main dish was just one thing that made this Christmas special. Thorp was delighted with the offering of goose, which she chose over the more traditional turkey.
“I go to the Food Bank every week. This Food Bank serves a lot of hungry people,” Thorp said.
Ron Davis, who was interviewed at the Coast Christian Center”s Saturday bag lunch in the park program along with Thorp, took a turkey.
“Got to have a turkey for Christmas,” he said with a smile.
Chris Biord, who is homeless, says the quality of the Food Bank is incomparable.
“When I see people that look like they are down, I tell them about the Food Bank and even take them up there. Sometimes I give them some of my food,” he said.
“They do above and beyond what one would expect,” Biord said.
Severy, enjoying her first season running the Food Bank, said the Food Bank during the holidays was an exhausting and exhilarating experience.
“The spirit in this workplace is so wonderful,” she said. “Every day started out at a fast pace and everything would seem chaotic. But pretty quick everything was running like clockwork, and clients, volunteers and employees all found the experience rewarding.”
Prior to Thanksgiving, local grocery stores ran short of turkeys, and Severy worried whether there would be enough for Thanksgiving dinner. Of course, there is no real substitute for turkey on Thanksgiving.
“But the donations poured in and they kept pouring in,” said Severy. “We ended up having more than enough turkeys. The churches, the Rotary Club all helped, and the Deputy Sheriffs Association donated hams.”
Food Bank hours
The Food Bank office is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It is closed on Tuesday.
Food is given out on Monday and Friday from noon to 3 p.m., and on Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m., with a special time for seniors from 10:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. all three days.
For more information, call 964-9404 or email foodbank@mcn.org.
How to help financially
As they have since 1995, the Advocate-News and The Mendocino Beacon are again sponsoring “Season of Sharing,” an annual community fund-raiser for the Fort Bragg Food Bank.
Once again the Community Foundation of Mendocino County is administering the fund-raiser free of charge, enabling every penny of your tax deductible donations to directly benefit the Food Bank.
Checks should be addressed to the Community Foundation of Mendocino County (CFMC), and mailed to Advocate-News, P.O. Box 1188, Fort Bragg, 95437. Donations may be dropped by the newspaper office, located at 450 N. Franklin St.
The newspapers provide weekly updates on the total dollars raised, with the names of contributing individuals and businesses, unless they wish to remain anonymous. The fund-raiser runs through Jan. 31.
This week”s update
Weekly updates on the total dollars raised appear in each issue, with the names of contributing individuals and businesses (unless they wish to remain anonymous) printed to keep the momentum going.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Season of Sharing had raised $9,064. Donations were received from Myra and Joseph, Firugeredo, Celeste Fox Kump, Robert and Leatrice Callan and Susan and Leslie Warner.
