A growing number of local families are struggling just to put food on the table.
That’s the message from several Clarkston-area organizations under pressure to keep pantries stocked as new requests for help pile up each week.
At The Clarkston News, we want to lend a hand, and we’re hoping you do, too.
We’ve put together a Thanksgiving food drive, and over the next several weeks we’ll collect non-perishable food items, which we’ll deliver’in time for Turkey Day’to Lighthouse North in Clarkston and Neighbor for Neighbor in Davisburg.
‘We’ve got 338 families signed up for Thanksgiving dinner,? said Connie Stapleton, Lighthouse North manager, noting another 60 senior-citizen households are also on the list. ‘It’s 15-20 percent higher than the requests we had last year.?
The dinner, she explained, includes a frozen turkey and all the ingredients to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving feast at home.
All totaled, 1,100 people’including some 700 children’are counting on Lighthouse for a Thanksgiving meal.
In turn, Lighthouse, a non-profit organization providing food and other services to those in need, is counting on the community, and hoping for cash donations to help cover the cost of 400 frozen turkeys.
Non-perishable food items are also needed.
‘Boxed stuffing and potatoes, canned yams, cranberry sauce, veggies,? said Stapleton. ‘Anything you can think of to put on a Thanksgiving dinner table.?
In addition to the Thanksgiving collection, she said, Lighthouse is also working hard to keep shelves stocked for everyday needs.
‘Food comes in and goes out right away,? she said. ‘We need, and use, every bit the community can give.?
At Neighbor for Neighbor, an all-volunteer, non-profit organization providing food, clothing and assistance to residents of Springfield, Independence, White Lake, Groveland, Holly, and Rose townships, the message was much the same.
While the organization isn’t providing a Thanksgiving dinner, per-se, about 80 families rely on a trip to Neighbor for Neighbor in order to put food on the table each week.
‘Right now we have a great need for canned fruit,? said Ruth Karash, the organization’s executive director. ‘Our sources have pretty much dried up.?
But, she said, any non-perishable items’canned meat, tuna, dried pasta and sauce, cereal, and veggies’for example, are also running low.
‘Soup is always nice, too, with winter coming,? she said. ‘And condiments, like ketchup and mustard. We don’t put money into non-staples, but people like to have them.?
Treats are also welcome, Karash noted, explaining that families come through the pantry to collect basic foods, but end at the ‘choosing table? where they can pick up something special for each member of the family.
‘We can also use toothbrushes,? she said. ‘I like to pass them out to families; after kids have had a cold or the flu, it’s a good time to change your toothbrush.?
Neighbor for Neighbor is currently serving about 80 families each week, sometimes including up to a dozen first-time requests.
‘With that many people, our shelves can be depleted quite quickly,? Karash said. ‘We’re getting a lot of people who’ve never reached out for help before, because they’ve never needed it.?
Non-perishable food donations can be dropped off Mon.-Fri. from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at The Clarkston News office, 5 S. Main Street, in downtown Clarkston. We will accept donations until Nov. 24.
Donations can also be dropped off Mon.-Fri. from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Lighthouse North, 6330 Sashabaw Road, Independence Township. Call 248-620-6116 for special arrangements or more information.
In-person donations can also be made Monday and Wednesday from 8:30 a.m.-noon at Neighbor for Neighbor in the Hart Community Center, 495 Broadway, Davisburg. Call 248-634-0900.