South Plains Food Bank volunteers load up fresh produce from their local farm.
Cars line the rows of a popular local grocery store as people move in and out, pushing carts and carrying bags. The holiday season is here, but for some Lubbockites, this scene is unfamiliar.
Tent City representative Les Burrus said at this time of year Tent City residents usually see an abundance of donations, but there is always room for more. Burrus, who is also the executive director of Link Ministries, said they provide clothing and food for residents on a daily basis as they help them get on their feet, so the demand for certain items is great.
During the winter months, it is important residents have warm clothing and blankets. Donations can be dropped off 1701 Avenue A, and he suggests thick, wool socks, gloves, and blankets to help protect residents from the elements.
“We get the little cotton gloves, which most people think is really nice and warm when you’re going from the car to the store or the house,” he said, “but when you’re out in the cold, those little cotton gloves don’t provide a lot of warmth, and we really need more of the winter-time ski gloves.”
Food donations, he said, usually come from holiday party leftovers. Although they do freeze what they can, he said, nothing they receive goes to waste. While food is continuously coming in from partnering agencies and local citizens, Burrus said he would like to see more breakfast-type items because residents get one meal a day.
“It’s a real giving time of year, but Tent City, of course the homeless, they have to eat 365 days out of the year,” he said, “and we don’t see a lot after January, February. After the first of the year, it seems like the food donations start to really drop off. It seems like people start to forget about it.”
Since their mission is about helping residents get ahead, he said they are always looking for furniture and household items for the ones who do find housing.
While furniture may be an unexpected request, South Plains Food Bank representative Danielle Libby said often under donated supplies include peanut butter and canned meats, even though they are a great source of protein.
She said she urges students to give to the Tech Can Share food drive on campus because every donation is appreciated. Although the name of the event encourages donations of canned goods with a quip on cans in the title, she said packaged foods such as cereal and pasta are popular.
Pasta is a welcomed sight for all local food pantries.
Volunteers and donations, she said, are always welcomed and encouraged as well.
“Their donations are doing so much,” she said, “and we are so grateful for what we receive from Texas Tech students.”
Volunteers and donations are also needed for the food and clothing pantries at the Trinity Outreach Center at 3027 34th street.
Pastor Doug Dayton said while they do get a lot of children’s clothes, they are in need of adult clothing and cold weather items such as blankets, gloves, scarves and toboggans.
For food, their requests are slightly different.
“We receive a lot of canned goods, and we need a lot of canned goods,” Dayton said, “but probably our greatest need on the food pantry side is fresh produce.”
He said while canned goods are great, for families with children bananas and apples go a long way.
This year, he said their organization has shattered their previous records by providing services for more than 10,000 families in the Lubbock area. That figure does not account for other families and individuals receiving services from similar agencies.
“I know there’s a lot of hunger and a lot of need in our community,” he said, “and we are very thankful.”
He said through donations and volunteering, the community has stepped up to help out those in need. Their agency is able to trace resource distribution to see if individuals have received help from other agencies. He said while this software allows them to be resourceful in times of financial need, it has shown them this last six months have been especially difficult for citizens.
He said he would like to see an increase in coat and blanket donations in the immediate future. Last year, he said a local hotel agency changed their bedding and donated about 40 comforters to Trinity. When temperatures began to plummet, he said they flew off their shelves.
Because the community is in great financial need, he said this year, they have adopted an apartment complex in order to feed more people during the holidays.
While the trio of local agencies had different requests, they all had a few things in common. They suggested to call beforehand, to see if someone at their facility can accept the donation; and to donate with your needs in mind.
All three agencies said it is important to check expiration dates before donating.
Dayton said it is important to not donate anything past its expiration date and just like the others, he said a good guideline for donating is to only donate items you would like to have.
“If everybody did a little bit,” he said, “then nobody would have to do a lot.”
For more information visit: http://www.trinitytoday.com
http://www.spfb.org
http://www.linkministries.com
About Lucinda Holt
