Mark Brown and other volunteers with Tucson Electric Power plan to count their blessings and share their bounty this Thanksgiving.
Approximately 20 volunteers will staff the truck at the Thanksgiving Harvest Food Drive to benefit the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, at Samโs Club, 4701 N. Stone Ave.
โIt makes me more appreciative of what I have when I know that I can help someone else out. I think the Food Bank is one of those organizations that most people realize they have something extra they can give to and that is more important than ever this year. People are almost always willing to help out, whether they go through their cupboards to find something they may not need or make a monetary donation,โ said Brown, a TEP IP Technical Engineer and project coordinator for the Thanksgiving Harvest Food Drive.
Brown, who has supported various TEP efforts for the food bank over the past four years, said he and fellow volunteers are excited to give back during the event, which will follow protocols for pandemic safety, including wearing masks and social distancing. He emphasized that donations of nonperishable food items and cash or checks are equally appreciated. TEP will match monetary donations of up to $25,000 and Brown said they are optimistic about reaching their goal.
โWe have people telling us they plan to drop by to give money and/or food, and we also have volunteers and donors who donโt feel comfortable going out, so they are making donations online in lieu of coming out,โ said Brown.
The donations will help to boost supplies for the Community Food Bank, which distributed 36 million pounds of food between March and August through five resource center locations in Tucson, Amado, Green Valley, Marana and Nogales.
โThat is a 52% increase over that same time period last year, when we distributed 23 million pounds of food,โ said Norma Cable, a spokeswoman for the Community Food Bank.
Cable said they are gearing up for the Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving, which is traditionally the busiest day of the year for the food bank. Though turkeys will not be distributed, food boxes will contain nonperishable canned goods supplemented with fresh produce, frozen meat, orange juice, bread and other products depending on availability.
โPeople are often surprised by the amount of food they get. Sometimes they share it with friends or family and we encourage that. We know it is helping the families that are in need and we want to get this food out in the community,โ said Cable.
