PORT ANGELES — Operation Candy Cane donations were down by more than a ton of food this year, the second of a one-two punch that has left the Port Angeles Food Bank still in need.
In addition to the lower total of food collected during the annual fire truck food drive, food bank workers have discovered that much of a recent 15-ton donation from the Polar Pioneer cannot be distributed through the food bank.
The donation is still very welcome, but the massive bulk items donated by the oil drilling platform crew can not be used by the average household, said Jessica Hernandez, executive director of the Port Angeles Food Bank.
“It was a tremendous experience,” Hernandez said Sunday of the massive donation, but added that most of the food was or will be distributed to organizations that can use large bulk items such as gallon drums of corn starch.
Commercial kitchens that serve large numbers of residents by cooking in large amounts, such as the Salvation Army and several community senior nutrition groups, can use the goods, and the donation will still serve the community well, she said.
Hernandez said Port Angeles Food Bank has distributed most of the food already, including to other county food banks and food pantries.
“It will get us through the first week in January,” she said.
Operation Candy Cane
Firefighters from Port Angeles Fire Department earlier this month walked as much as 26 miles per night for six nights to gather 8,687 pounds of goods and about $450 in cash for the Port Angeles Food Bank.
“It is a significant amount of food. It is enough to get us into the beginning of March,” Hernandez said.
That takes the food bank into the spring, which typically is “a desert” of donations to the food bank, she said.
In 2014 the firefighters collected 11,219 pounds of food and $2,000 in cash donations.
The record year for cash donations was 2011, when $3,396 was given to firefighters to help provide food for those who are struggling.
In 2013, Port Angeles residents donated a record 13,768 pounds of non-perishable food.
“We’re not sure what happened,” Hernandez said, and noted that a second check of the donations would be made to discover if something was missed during the weigh-in.
‘Fill the Fire Truck’
A four-hour “Fill the Fire Truck” food drive, hosted by firefighters from Clallam County Fire District No. 2 on Saturday, collected more food that has not yet been weighed and about $750 in cash.
The food bank has some specific needs remaining after the collection was complete — canned protein, such as meats, stews and other heavy winter type foods, and cash, Hernandez said.
A can of chicken or a hearty chowder or stew provides a child the right kind of calories to get though a cold winter’s day, she said.
Hernandez said cash donations are used to purchase food in bulk from wholesalers, and to purchase fresh or frozen items.
“I can make each penny stretch further,” she said.
Donations can be dropped off at the Port Angeles Food Bank at 402 S. Valley St., or checks may be mailed to PO Box 1885, Port Angeles,WA, 98362.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
