BUTTE — The high cost of living has made it difficult for many people to feel thankful this time of year, but the volunteers at the Butte Emergency Food Bank have put together hundreds of bags of food so people in need can at least feel thankful for something this Thanksgiving.
“I don’t, I don’t think I could even hardly survive without it. Yeah, it is very hard,” said foodbank client Dorothy Bennett.
Volunteers have already packed 400 bags of food and will be giving away free turkeys to their clients on November 18, 2023. Some find the work rewarding because they see a great need for this service in the community.
“It hasn’t been long ago that a little girl comes in and she said, ‘Oh, momma look, real food,’ now, that’s scary. And there’s so many hungry kids, it breaks my heart,” said foodbank volunteer Shirley Smith.
Volunteers spend about three hours a day packing boxes for the needy.
“It’s nice to know that people are going to get a turkey dinner that normally wouldn’t have one,” said food bank volunteer Bob Worley.
Dorothy Bennett — who lives on Social Security — said the high cost of rent and utilities leaves little money for food.
“And food prices are so high now, it’s nothing like before, you can’t have a hundred dollars left out of your check and expect it to last a month, because it’s not going to,” said Bennett.
While they help people in need, the food bank also needs help.
“What we need up here are young volunteers. You know, people who can pack these boxes to the cars and put these boxes up,” said Smith.
