Interfaith Food Bank Projects Director Chris Tarleton displays a Thanksgiving dinner donated to families through Project Thanks! Photo by: Stephanie Minasian

With the economic situation in Amador County in an unfavorable state, many local families are in need of extra assistance for Thanksgiving this year.

The Interfaith Food Bank and community organizations are stepping up to help with the annual Project Thanks! - an effort to supply Thanksgiving dinners to Amador County residents who need some help during this holiday season.

Last year, 914 local families enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving dinner provided by Project Thanks! along with the assistance of local sponsors and community organizations. Project Thanks! is a community-wide effort to donate baskets of essentials to complete a Thanksgiving meal. This year, Project Thanks! is expecting to feed approximately 900 families - close to the number of families fed last year. With such a high number of local families in need, the food bank is asking for more frozen turkeys to stock in its freezer for the Thanksgiving baskets.

"We have no turkeys in the freezer," said Interfaith Food Bank director Kathleen Harmon. "We need 350 turkeys to make this work." Although there is currently a shortage on the number of turkeys, other items are being donated by the community, such as bagged or boxed stuffing, canned or dry gravy, canned green beans, corn or yams, canned cranberry sauce, canned pumpkin mix, canned milk, pie crust mix and pumpkin pie spice - all the ingredients to create a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

"The community has really stepped up to the plate and has dramatically increased the boxes that they've done in the past," Harmon said. There are almost 700 sponsors that have assisted in the project so far. "The community organizations are doing a great job to fill the need," Harmon added.

The Interfaith Food Bank takes applications from families in need and coordinates with the community to provide Thanksgiving dinners for them.

"What the community has done is recognize that the economy has created a different situation for our neighbors," Harmon explained. "They are taking the ball and running with it." From start to finish, it takes about $40 to fill up a complete Thanksgiving basket, according to Harmon. Monetary donations are also accepted, and donors are asked to write "Project Thanks!" in the memo line of their checks.

Local grocery stores are also lending a hand in the effort by allowing the Interfaith Food Bank to purchase perishable items at wholesale prices. The food bank truck will also be making appearances at stores across the county within the next two weeks - complete with a county supervisor wearing a sign that reads, "Got turkey? 1,300 Amador families don't" - to campaign for Project Thanks!

"People should give from the heart," said project director Chris Tarleton. Community members can donate food items until Nov. 25.

"Anything that doesn't get donated goes into Christmas," Tarleton said. "During Christmas, people can get food every week instead of every two weeks." The Interfaith Food Bank hopes to serve the people in the community who are in true need, Tarleton added.

The food bank is at 12181 Airport Road in Martell. For information, call 267-9006.