Food Bank’s Stocks Low as Holidays Near

The week before Thanksgiving, the cupboard is almost bare at Food Share, Ventura County’s prime food bank.

“We need turkeys,” said Dan Williams at the charity’s enormous warehouse in Oxnard. “Especially now, we need Thanksgiving staples like stuffing mix, instant mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie mix.”

The nonprofit agency relies on food donations to feed thousands of hungry people each month by funneling 600,000 pounds of edibles to 200 Ventura County agencies such as the Salvation Army. The goods are distributed by way of food baskets and hot meals in churches, shelters and neighborhood pantries.

Thursday morning, Assemblyman Nao Takasugi (R-Oxnard) helped Food Share kick off its holiday food drive by unloading canned goods collected around the county at the distribution site, 4156 N. South Bank Road. Businesses such as Vons, Kinko’s, Unisys and Exxon, along with 95 other companies, schools, restaurants and service clubs, are helping with the food drive, but individual donations of nonperishable foodstuffs also are needed, Williams said.

Frozen turkeys are urgently sought, since the number of needy people served during the holiday season increases by 5,000.

“Every Vons has a green collection barrel inside the store with our name on it, and anyone can drop off nonperishable food in the bins,” Williams said. “But don’t drop the turkeys in there.”

Frozen birds may be taken to the South Bank Road site any weekday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or donors can call Williams at 983-7100, and they will be referred to a drop-off site in their own community.

“We’re down this year 30,000 pounds a month on our nonperishable donations, and we’re not sure why,” Williams said. “We always need canned tuna, staples like beans and rice, cereals, flour, canned juices and soups. Glass containers aren’t good.”

He added that it is not too late for a food drive at workplaces. For information on conducting a mini-food drive, call Food Share’s Jeff Drucker at 485-4156.