CADILLAC — The season of giving is almost upon us, and that means many organizations in the area are getting ready to address some holiday needs.
With Thanksgiving and Christmas set to take center stage, these organizations are hoping the community can help them assist those in need this holiday season.
“For our phones and everything else, the traffic goes way up because of the Thanksgiving basket drive, questions about Thanksgiving Day dinner and Christmas,” Cadillac Salvation Army Capt. Liz Bock said.
The number of people visiting the Salvation Army’s food pantry has been on the rise for many months now, Bock said.
Last month, they had around 260 families visit the food pantry. Cadillac Salvation Army Social Services Coordinator Micah Chisholm said out of those 260, 87 families visited it for the first time.
He noted that the uptick in traffic is likely because of the rising cost of everything, including groceries.
Food pantries in Missaukee County are seeing a similar uptick in people coming to get food.
Community Hope oversees three food pantries in the county. These pantries are located at the Lake City Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Rehoboth Reformed Church in McBain and the Prosper Christian Reformed Church in Falmouth.
The organization’s executive director Jennifer Pugh said they’re seeing between 850 and 900 food pickups a month.
With Thanksgiving coming up, both the Salvation Army and Community Hope are looking to stock their shelves with some traditional holiday foods.
Chisholm said the Salvation Army is distributing Thanksgiving food baskets in Cadillac and Lake City on Tuesday, Nov. 26 starting at 9 a.m. The distribution in Cadillac will take place at the Salvation Army building, and the one in Lake City will be at the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
The quantity of food in the baskets will vary a little depending on the size of the family receiving it, Chisholm said. These baskets will have items like green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, cake mix, canned fruit and a turkey.
Chisholm said they are prepared to serve 400 families this year. The Salvation Army will host something similar closer to Christmas.
Some free Thanksgiving dinners will also be taking place in Cadillac.
The Revival Center Cadillac is hosting its annual harvest dinner craft and dessert auction on Sunday, Nov. 24 starting at noon. The dinner will take place at the revival center located at 5676 E. M-55.
Revival Center Cadillac Administrative Assistant Kristina Wissner said they are serving turkey, ham, green beans, potatoes, cranberry sauce and pies.
After enjoying the free dinner, attendees will get to bid on various crafts and desserts during the silent and live auctions. Wissner said they’ll have pies, cookies, cakes and candies, along with items like quilts, paintings and more.
The Revival Center is accepting auction items up until the day of the event.
The money raised at the auction will go toward supporting the Cadillac Community Food Pantry. Wissner said they have been serving around 100 families each week.
Cadillac Salvation Army Lt. Gregory Bock said their dinner is being held at the Temple Hill Baptist Church at 1601 W. Division St. in Cadillac. It’ll take place on Thursday, Nov. 28 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Some food that’ll be served includes turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans, corn and more. Pies will be offered for dessert.
Gregory said they are looking for volunteers to assist at the dinner. Those interested can sign up online by going to tinyurl.com/uzvxcuya.
The Sons of the American Legion Post 94 is organizing a free Thanksgiving for veterans and their families on Thursday, Nov. 28.
SAL Post 94 Commander Johnny Vagas said their dinner is taking place from 2 to 6 p.m. at the American Legion Post 94 located at 422 N. Mitchell St. in Cadillac.
Some of the food that’ll be served includes ham, turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and desserts. Vagas said the bar will also be open for people to grab refreshments.
Holiday food items aren’t the only items food pantries will be looking for this winter.
Pugh said they always need items like cereal, noodles, spaghetti sauce, canned meat, pancake mix and syrup. She said they try to stay away from food items that require an oven because they’ve found many people either don’t have one or theirs isn’t working.
Wissner said the Revival Center is looking for similar food items to stock their pantry.
Warm clothing and toys will also be hot ticket items as we approach winter and Christmas.
Project Christmas Board Secretary Carol Corwin said they are expecting there to be greater demand for their event this year. Last year they had around 840 families register for Project Christmas and expect to push 900 in 2024.
This year’s Project Christmas is taking place on Saturday, Dec. 14 starting at 8 a.m. Registration will go until Wednesday, Nov. 27.
People can visit projectchristmaswexmiss.org to sign up online. Residents in Wexford County can also call either (231) 253-1940 or (231) 779-5205 to register.
The phone number to call for Missaukee County residents is (231) 839-8816.
Drop boxes for Project Christmas are currently out at businesses in Wexford and Missaukee counties. Corwin said they are looking for winter clothes like hats and mittens and toys for kids ages 18 to infants.
Other items like pajamas, pillows, bedding, toaster ovens and electric frying pans are other big needs, she said.
One of Project Christmas’s biggest needs is cash donations Corwin said. Like many people, she said they are seeing the effects of the rising cost of goods.
The Revival Center Cadillac also has a clothing pantry and a program called Go Serve for household items in space heaters and tents. As winter approaches, Wissner said they expect to see more people coming in asking for those items too.
The Salvation Army is also collecting toys for the Toys for Tots program. Those toys are accessible to both Salvation Army and Project Christmas.
Heating assistance is another big need this time of the year. Gregory said gift cards for propane or small propane tanks are helpful.
Cadillac Salvation Army Community Outreach and Program Coordinator Brandi Kinyon said they also look for gas cards. This is for people who run their cars all night while sleeping.
Phone cards are another item Kinyon said she sees many people asking for.
Volunteers are always a need for food pantries and charitable organizations.
Pugh said many of their volunteers go away for the winter, meaning they are out looking for others to step up and help distribute food. Corwin said Project Christmas is looking for people to fill in some leadership positions as some of their volunteers retire.
Bell ringers will be a big need for the Salvation Army. Gregory Bock said they are trying to fill all their weekend spots first, before filling out the weekdays.
Those interested in being a bell ringer can go to registertoring.com to sign up.
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