Turkeys for All donates a rafter to food bank

Turkeys for All donated more than $8,400 to the Community Action Partnership food bank to buy turkeys and dinner items so it can feed 1,500 families in Kootenai County over Thanksgiving.

The food bank already had 800 turkeys that were donated. To get the remaining 700 turkeys, plus additional dinner items, CAP needed about $12,000.

Community donations provided some funds and Turkeys for All covered the rest.

“What they’re doing is amazing,” said food bank manager Nicol Barnes. “It takes a lot of weight off our shoulders. We definitely couldn’t do it without their help.”

The president and founder of Turkeys for All, Jim Myers, said his nonprofit's role is to make up for what the community can’t give.

“Our role is to fill the gap between what the community donates and what the food bank needs,” he said. “But we never want to stop the other donations.”

The Coeur d'Alene food bank will be giving out turkey dinners to families who are food bank members during the week before Thanksgiving, Nov. 15 through Nov. 18. It will be first-come, first-served.

Each dinner, intended for a family, will have a whole turkey, a sack of potatoes and some canned goods like cranberry sauce, green beans, gravy mix, stuffing and pumpkin.

Barnes said the food bank is providing as many meals as it can within its resources. Last year, the food bank served more than 6,000 people. The goal to feed 1,500 families this year was based on the number of people who came to the food bank around Thanksgiving last year.

Barnes pointed out there are other food banks in the community and other places to get Thanksgiving dinner.

“We’re trying to provide for a good percentage of the population, but we’re not the only ones out there,” she said.

The Community Action Partnership Food Bank is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, contact the food bank at (208) 770-3018.