Tough economic times and an increase in families requesting assistance didn’t stop the Pratt Community from opening their hearts and wallets for the Pratt Christian Food Bank.
“The community outpouring of food and money has been phenomenal,” said food bank volunteer Diana Harris.
The increase in the number of families wanting assistance started in November. The food bank had requests from 254 clients for food boxes for Thanksgiving.
Pratt area residents responded with food and monetary donations to the point that the food bank was able to cover all the requests.
That giving mode continued as Christmas approached. Various organizations put together food drives while others made cash donations to help keep the shelves full at the food bank located at 111 West Fourth Street.
Organizations like the Township 12 Firefighters who collected canned goods and presented a $250 check to the food bank was an example of the generosity from the community. The students, teachers and staff from Liberty Middle School and Southwest Elementary gathered donations of canned food and brought over 3,000 items to the food bank.
Haskins Elementary and Skyline also had food drives. Hunters and Farmers Feed America donated deer meat for the bank.
And it wasn’t just organizations that got involved. On one of the days when the food bank was handing out Christmas boxes a man walked in and just gave the food bank $100.
“Our community is very giving,” Harris said.
That $100 was needed to help handle the 110 boxes for clients for Christmas. Each box has $40 worth of food for a complete Christmas dinner including a turkey. It’s enough to feed a family for a couple of days. Just for the food bank clients alone that comes to $4,400.
The food bank needed those donations for both holidays. The increase in client requests had taken its toll on the amount of available food before the holidays.
“We needed it. Our shelves were bare,” Harris said.
For the last three or four months people began donating food and money to help keep the shelves stocked at the food bank.
So much food and cash was donated that the food bank didn’t have to take any money out of their own account to fill the 110 boxes for Christmas.
And the food bank wasn’t the only organization taking care of food box needs. The Elks Club took on 26 boxes.
The need for food and monetary donations continues. The food bank had 85 clients for Christmas in 2007. The food bank and the Elks chapter had 136 this year.
