[November 22, 2009] Many thankful this week for food banks Tweet Nov 22, 2009 (The News Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Don't look for an uptick in good news at Pierce County food banks this Thanksgiving season, when need haunts the lives of those who line up for food. "It's a very challenging year," said Frank Walton, director of The Salvation Army in Tacoma. Local food bank operators say the number of people in need is up between 30 percent and 35 percent over last year. In addition, donations of food and money to buy food are down at many food banks. However, the holidays tend to bring in more donations, so those looking for a Thanksgiving turkey or ham with all the fixings probably will be able to find one. Lulu and Fili Vaiolo of Parkland are among the newly needy. They lost their jobs -- hers as a caregiver, his as a warehouse worker -- earlier this year and haven't found new ones. The year has been "hard, very hard," Lulu Vaiolo said. "You gotta pay the rent." The couple were first in line Friday at the BASH (Bikers Against Statewide Hunger) Food Bank in Lakewood for its annual Thanksgiving dinner giveaway. "It's going to be a very happy Thanksgiving," Lulu Vaiolo said. "We're going to have food." The need for help is up countywide, said Helen McGovern, executive director of the Pierce County Emergency Food Network, which supplies food to 65 food banks, meal sites and shelters. Last year, the network handled 844,551 visits. She expects that number to climb 33 percent this year. The seven FISH food banks have seen a similar increase in need. Through last month, the outlets served 258,214 people, up from the 191,387 people helped in the first 10 months of 2008. Corporate donations also are down from what the Emergency Food Network budgeted, while foundation grants are down even more, McGovern said. Personal donations, on the other hand, are up at least $10,000 over last year. "Instead of giving a little bit to everybody, people are focusing on basic needs that are closer to home," McGovern said. To meet the need with available money, The Salvation Army in Tacoma has teamed up with 10 churches in the city to help collect food and donations. Late last week, 1,500 families had registered for the Thanksgiving meal giveaway that will run from Monday through Wednesday at The Salvation Army's downtown location. "At the end of the day we will help as many people as we can," Walton said. While Thanksgiving is taken care of, he said they now are looking to Christmas and the need for donations of both food and toys. "I'm optimistic people will rally," he said. FIRST IN LINE Told the line to the giveaway would be long, the Vaiolos showed up at 4 a.m. for the 9 a.m. start. They camped out in chairs and blankets. Eventually, the line followed the perimeter of the parking lot at the small business mall on South Tacoma Way just outside McChord Air Base. By leading the line, the Vaiolos were assured one of the 200 frozen turkeys or 289 frozen whole chickens plus dinner fixings. The box of goodies will be enough for their family, which includes four boys and Lulu Vaiolo's mother. Vickie Houk, who with her husband, Bob, coordinates the nearly 12-year-old food bank, knew many of the people in the line because they use the food bank often. Clients can use the food bank once a month. "They are so happy," she said. "It's not raining." But Houk can read the state of the economy in their faces. She attributed the food bank's 35 percent increase in clients this year to the poor economy and lost jobs. "We've watched it grow the last two years," she said. People without a job for two years are seeing the unemployment benefits run out, she said. And the sagging economy is generating few jobs among small businesses, she said. Vickie Houk herself is a victim of the economic downturn. She had to close her escrow business last month after two years of few home sales. "I stopped looking at the stock market a year ago because it's not determinate of how things really are," she said. FIRST-TIMERS Another sign of the times is the increased number of first-timers at food banks. "The sad thing is so many come in and they don't know what to do," Houk said. "They've never been to a food bank before. We don't care. ... We figure if you walk in the front door of the food bank, you need food." One day last week, the Southeast FISH Food Bank off Portland Avenue in Midland saw 342 families. "Forty-five of them were brand new," said food bank manager Danny Kiourkas Sr. Overall, he said, the number of clients served is up 25 percent so far this year. Many newcomers are working poor -- people who have jobs but either the pay is small or the pay and hours have been cut. "They don't have sufficient income to pay the electrical bill and rent plus buy food," Kiourkas said. "People are desperate. ... For some people this is their only source for feeding their families." He recalled a woman who came to the food bank two weeks ago. Her husband had been laid off from Boeing, and she had lost her job as a schoolteacher. "She broke down crying," Kiourkas said. "It was her first time at a food bank. ... She was embarrassed and ashamed." Outside the food bank Friday, Linda Fischer, 63, a retired nurse, explained that she was there because her retirement and Social Security payments don't cover the bills for her and her husband. "The minute the recession started, prices started going up on everything," she said. "I never should have retired." Fischer said she felt "very strange" the first time she came to the food bank but admitted she needs the help. She had a turkey but wanted to fill out the meal with stuffing and other holiday items. Clients take a shopping cart through the food bank's warehouse so they can pick the food they want from shelves. Volunteers, many of whom are high school students, help out. Everyone walks out with 55 to 60 pounds of food, Kiourkas said. Though the food bank doesn't have special holiday meals, shelves are stocked with holiday dinner foods, including turkeys and hams. Tacked on a bulletin board is the date that a record number of people were served at the food bank: 432 people on July 22, 2009. "We feel we will be breaking that record pretty soon during the holiday," Kiourkas said. NO 'PITY PARTIES' To make their money go further, the Emergency Food Network has rethought its purchases, McGovern said. Turkeys are out because they are so expensive. Besides, she noted, the homeless and those living in motels aren't able to cook a turkey. Instead, McGovern said, the network bought a truckload each of cooked meatloaf and mashed potatoes, whose nutritional value is better. Houk, at BASH, said their donations are down too. "We are struggling to pay the rent," she said. "We have a lot of food. It's always good this time of year, but after tomorrow we will be empty." She doesn't blame people for slowing down on donations. "People don't have that extra $5," Houk said. "They need that extra bag of groceries for themselves." She is philosophical about what needs to be done to keep hunger at bay in these hard times. "When things are tough, communities need to come together," she said. "We need to make things better together rather than sit around and have pity parties." Mike Archbold: 253-597-8692 [email protected] Staff photographer Drew Perine contributed to this report. Selected food banks in Pierce County Food Connection (St. Leo's Catholic Church) 1323 S. Yakima Ave., Tacoma Hours: Noon to 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; 9:30 to 11 a.m. and noon to 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays; 9:30 to 11 a.m. and noon to 1:30 p.m. Saturdays Phone: 253-383-5048 Salvation Army Tacoma 1501 Sixth Ave. Tacoma Hours: 1 to 2:30 p.m. Mondays; 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays Phone: 253-572-8452 BASH (Bikers Against Statewide Hunger) 11020 South Tacoma Way, Suite E, Lakewood Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays Phone: 253-531-9600 FISH Food Banks of Pierce County Bread Box/South Tacoma (Christian Fellowship Church) 5010 S. G St., Tacoma Hours: 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays Phone: 253-383-3164 Jackson Street (St. Andrew's Episcopal Church) 7410 S. 12th St., Tacoma Hours: 5 to 7 p.m. on the last Wednesdays of the month Phone: 253-383-3164 Northwest Tacoma: Mason United Methodist Church 2710 N. Madison St., Tacoma Hours: Noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays Phone: 253-756-4974 Edgewood Community (Mountain View Lutheran Church) 3505 122nd Ave. E., Edgewood Hours: 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays Phone: 253-383-3164 Graham Holy Disciples Catholic Church 10425 187th St. E., Puyallup Hours: 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursdays Phone: 253-846-3805 Lakes Area (Little Church on the Prairie) 6310 Motor Ave. S.W., Lakewood Hours: 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays Phone: 253-383-3164 Southeast (Lutheran Church of Christ the King) 1704 E. 85th St., Tacoma Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays Phone: 253-383-3164 TASC -- Special Dietary Food Bank 3018 Portland Ave., Tacoma Hours: 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays Phone: 253-272-8289 For more food banks: --Call the Emergency Food Network at 253-584-1040 or go to www.efoodnet.org and click on Resources for a listing of food banks by ZIP code. Emergency Food Network's Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner When: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday Where: Landmark Convention Center Temple Theatre, 47 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma Rides: Free Pierce Transit service to site Information on attending or donating: 253-584-1040 To see more of The News Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.TheNewsTribune.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]