By Patricia Jones, Task Force on Poverty and Karen Benzel, United Way of Western Nebraska
Holiday food baskets have been provided for several years to families in our area. Sign-ups this year are online for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets at www.uwwn.org/foodbaskets
or by calling United Way at 763-8031. The food baskets are intended for Box Butte County residents that are experiencing hunger.
For many years churches collected items, put them into boxes, and delivered them throughout the county. Then the Christmas food basket program was coordinated by Gene and Mickey Aruffo through Just Neighbors. After Gene’s death in April 2017, St. Matthews Episcopal Church managed the program for one year under the guidance of Father Coke McClure.
The Task Force on Poverty realized there needed to be more consistency in operating the program, so United Way of Western Nebraska serving Box Butte County offered to bring the program under their umbrella to ensure the program continued well into the future. In 2018, McClure, Pastor Tim Stadem (St. John’s Lutheran Church) and Karen Benzel (United Way) met with Mickey Aruffo to officially transfer the program and to learn more about the process Just Neighbors used for the program. United Way began coordinating the Holiday Food Basket program in 2018.
Safeway collects Turkey buck donations in Autumn leading up to Thanksgiving. All the donations Safeway receives are used to purchase Thanksgiving meals that are given to United Way to distribute to food insecure families in our community. In 2018, United Way volunteers distributed 59 Thanksgiving food baskets, and 89 were distributed in 2019 serving 295 people. The number of food baskets available directly correlates to the donations Safeway receives for the Turkey Bucks program. Safeway notifies United Way when the turkeys and sides are available, and those who have signed up to receive a basket are notified of the time and location for pickup. Families who do not have transportation are encouraged to use public transit, which is free at this time.
The Christmas food baskets are a community effort coordinated by United Way. Safeway begins collecting Santa Bucks, monetary donations at the registers that are used to purchase food that is then given to United Way to distribute, after Thanksgiving. In the past, area churches and organizations would confirm the number of families they were able to serve and names of the families were given to each entity. This year, the Christmas food basket program is a true community effort with all the baskets including similar food items and distributed from one location. Food items are currently being collected and will be taken to one central location to be distributed via drive thru.
There will be an opportunity to purchase small gifts for the children whose families are receiving Christmas food baskets to be included in the distribution. More details will be announced after Thanksgiving. Families should expect to receive a ham, potatoes, canned fruits and vegetables, stuffing, gravy, bread or rolls, and other items in their Christmas boxes. The food boxes are not prepared meals.
Only those families that have completed the online application to sign-up will be eligible to receive a Christmas food basket. In 2018, 225 baskets were distributed serving 846 people. In 2019, 930 people were served for a total of 282 baskets.
If someone would like to donate to the food basket program, they are welcome to do so through their church, or via the Turkey Bucks or Santa Bucks programs at Safeway. Donations may be mailed to United Way P.O. Box 617 Alliance, NE 69301. Please note food baskets in the memo line. Donations of non-perishable food items are welcome; contact your local church or United Way for more information. Monetary donations will be used to purchase meat and any additional items needed for the food baskets.