Communities, volunteers help feed local families

Nearly 300 Sanders County residents got help from community members and churches last weekend as the annual Thanksgiving Baskets program packed and delivered the ingredients for turkey dinners to 76 families from Heron to Thompson Falls.

On Saturday, volunteers gathered at Community Congregational Church in Thompson Falls to sort through tons of canned and fresh produce, pie crusts, pumpkin and other items. On Sunday, church and community members packed the boxes and delivered them to families.

Ron Reedy has been organizing the Thanksgiving Baskets program for several years, taking over the program that was started by former Community Congregational Church pastor Gaylund Olson. He keeps a record of everything that is needed to ensure families have all the ingredients to make a full turkey dinner with all the fixings. The supply chain issues have also affected the non-profit effort as Reedy said they were short on pie crusts this year.

Reedy said there are two goals for the program, the first being getting churches and the community together and the second getting people fed. He noted his record for packing boxes on Sunday was 48 minutes. They start promptly at 2 p.m. each year. This year his goal was to beat that. Though all the boxes were packed and ready to be delivered in 32 minutes, Reedy said he isn't claiming it as a record because there weren't enough drivers to deliver when the boxes were ready. He laughed that they'll try again next year for a new record packing time.

So what does it take to feed 76 families? Reedy ordered 2220 cans of vegetables, 134 packages of gravy, 356 carrots and 92 five-pound bags of potatoes, among other items. Betty Kenney has been helping with the Thanksgiving Baskets program as long as Reedy has been involved. She spent Saturday managing volunteers in the church kitchen portioning out carrots, apples, onions, celery, potatoes and other produce, which was counted and bagged by the size of the family receiving the items. Reedy said they have four different sizes of baskets they pack based on the number of people in the family. Kenney said that any leftovers go to the Community Harvest Food Bank.

"It's a really neat thing," Reedy said. "People are grateful, and it blesses both ways." Reedy noted that they get donations and volunteers from other churches, local businesses and individuals. On Saturday he wasn't sure how many people would be at Sunday's packing and delivering event, noting that each year new volunteers come to help.