Megan Caldwell returns to Carrie Blake Community Park to work with her dad Bert to help place meal bags in vehicles during the Family Holiday Food Bag Distribution Day. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)

Megan Caldwell returns to Carrie Blake Community Park to work with her dad Bert to help place meal bags in vehicles during the Family Holiday Food Bag Distribution Day. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)

Sequim provides meal bags for Thanksgiving weekend

Community helps to provide food for 800-plus families

SEQUIM — More than 800 families received Holiday Meal Bags in time for the Thanksgiving weekend thanks to a community effort of dozens of people.

Organizers with the Family Holiday Food Bag Distribution November event estimate 755 families received meals at Carrie Blake Community Park last Friday and another 100 bags were delivered.

“Thanks to everyone that helped with the planning, preparation and distribution of the Holiday Meal Bags,” said Andra Smith, Sequim Food Bank executive director.

“This event is an amazing example of Sequim’s collaborative spirit, and we are grateful for our community’s continued support.”

Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) members, various churchgoers and service group members and other groups turned out to help direct cars, bag food and fill trunks and backseats with hearty meals.

Lou Ann Linder with the Sequim Valley Lions said she helped at the December distribution day last year and said “it feels wonderful to give back to the community and know families will have a meal.”

Smith said they planned to distribute food for 1,200 families through Friday’s event and another 800 for the Dec. 16 (Christmas) distribution day.

She estimated another 100 families being provided meal bags each of the two days.

As previously mentioned, Sequim Food Bank has seen a 90 percent uptick between October 2021 and 2022 in usage, Smith said.

As demand goes up, she said the Sequim Food Bank’s primary needs are monetary as state and federal relief are being reduced.

To make a donation online, visit sequimfoodbank.org; mail to: Sequim Food Bank, P.O. Box 1453, Sequim WA, 98382. Or drop off a donation with staff at 144 W. Alder St.

The Sequim Food Bank is open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, and from 9 a.m. to noon Fridays and Saturdays. It is closed Friday and Saturday and re-opens Monday, Nov. 28.

For more information, call 360-683-1205.

The next Family Holiday Meal Bag Distribution is set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 16, starting at Trinity United Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave.

________

Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.

More in News

Dee Norlin, right, of Port Townsend and host at Pasture House, one of the eight homes on the AAUW Kitchen Tour on Marrowstone Island, points out the cabinetry, red alder, madrona and cedar and counter surfaces in a recently remodeled home and kitchen using the latest technologies to make the home eco-friendly and efficient. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Kitchen tour

Dee Norlin, right, of Port Townsend and host at Pasture House, one… Continue reading

Utilizing funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, tabletop game programming is offered at the North Olympic Library System.
Libraries bracing for loss of funding

Online resources are on chopping block

Poplars to be removed on Sims Way next month

Work to begin a multi-year project to expand port’s boatyard

Chimacum Elementary to get new playground

Half-million-dollar project expected to be installed at school later this week

Fire in transient encampment closes Tumwater Truck Route

The Port Angeles Fire Department and a crew from… Continue reading

Man flown to Harborview after car strikes pole

A 20-year-old man was flown to a Seattle hospital… Continue reading

Two sent to hospitals after rear-end collision

Two people were taken to hospitals following a rear-end collision… Continue reading

Security exercise planned for Friday

Naval Magazine Indian Island will conduct a security training… Continue reading

Jefferson planning commission releases draft comprehensive plan

Following months of public meetings, the Jefferson County Planning… Continue reading

Jefferson County Board of Health seeking applicants

The Board of Jefferson County Commissioners is accepting applications… Continue reading

Guardrail repair set along Highway 101

Maintenance crews will repair guardrails along U.S. Highway 101… Continue reading

A public fireworks display at Carrie Blake Community Park on Independence Day, as pictured in 2022, will be discussed tonight at the Sequim City Council meeting. The discussion follows public requests to stop the display due to potential impact on wildlife and residents. (Michael Dashiell/Olympic Peninsula News Group file)
Sequim council to hear analysis

Staff to discuss fireworks impacts