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Show Alternative volunteer opportunities for Thanksgiving volunteers underwhelmed other times Homeless shelters overwhelmed by Chelsea DiFrancesco StafFWriter Im sorry, were full is a phrase that is often heard by visitors to local homeless shelters for Thanksgiving dinner. Ironically, it is not those who are looking for a meal who get turned away. Local homeless shelters and soup kitchens regularly have to refuse help from volunteers on Thanksgiving because of the huge turnout of helpers. The Salt Lake City Mission, which according to its Web site is a nonprofit, inner-cit- y ministry which primarily serves the homeless and impoverished, is one such place. Given the surplus of volunteers at Thanksgiving, it is unsurprising that the volunteer positions at the Salt Lake City Mission are all full for the turkey dinner. What is more surprising is that every position for Christmas is also full. Students who are unable to serve food during the holidays because of the lack of demand may be at a loss for other ways to serve the community. Jessica Pugh, public relations and events specialist for the Utah Food Bank, said that the food bank is one place where all offered help is needed and accepted. November is definitely our busiest month, but its not possible to get too many donations, said Pugh. Thanksgiving Day, The food bank collects and distributes 18 million pounds of food per year, three million of which are collected from food drives. That three million pounds is imperative to our system, Pugh said. The facility holds a maximum of two million pounds of food at a time. The banks goal for the holiday season is to collect 1.5 million pounds and 2,400 frozen turkeys. "November is definitely our busiest month, but it's not possible to get too many donations." Jessica Pugh Public Relations and Event Specialist Utah Food Bank Pugh also said that the money collected during the holiday drives is critical. Because of our connections with vendors, the food bank can turn a donation into nine dollars worth of food and services, said Pugh. one-doll- ar Pugh also gave alternative ways for volunteers to contribute besides donating food and money. She said the food bank in always in need of people to help sort food. We tend to see a little bit of a slump in donations and volunteers during the summer months, Pugh said. Hunger doesnt have a season, its year-roun- d. "Hunger doesn't have a season, it's year-round- ." Jessica Pugh Another way people can donate their time is through the food box program at the Utah Food Bank. The program provides direct services to and homebound seniors, said Pugh. Each client of the program receives a box each month containing a 10 day supplemental supply of both perishable and food. Pugh said that they cater each box to the specific clients needs and include specialty items like pet food. Sometimes people make sure that their pets are taken care of before they take care of themselves, Pugh said. This way, we can make sure that our clients dont have to make that choice. Volunteers involved with the food box program low-inco- me 7-- non-perisha- ble can choose to sort the food into boxes for each client, decorate the boxes or deliver the food to the clients themselves. Besides just delivering food, they are also providing a friendly visit to those who dont get visits Continued on page 8 |