Milpitas Food Pantry will serve 600 households over Thanksgiving holiday - Milpitas Post

Milpitas Food Pantry will serve 600 households over Thanksgiving holiday - Milpitas Post

As Milpitas residents get ready to gather with family and friends to give thanks for all the things they’re grateful for this holiday season, Milpitas Food Pantry asks all residents to remember those in need and donate food, gift cards or other goods for the holidays.

The Food Pantry at 1440 S. Main St. serves about 4,000 people a year and is expecting to serve 600 households this Thanksgiving, according to the Karen Kolander, the nonprofit’s executive director.

“We are working with churches to distribute food for the holiday because getting in and out of the pantry is insane,” Kolander said earlier this week.

She added the pantry received as many turkeys as it could hold prior to Thanksgiving, but said community members could donate gift cards for supermarkets that could be included in holiday packages.

The package households received for Thanksgiving, valued at more than $65, included a turkey/gift card, potatoes, sweet potatoes, gravy, vegetables like corn and green beans, some kind of dessert, and cranberry sauce and olives.

“We try to make this complete meal, so it’s all the basics and stuffing of course,” Kolander said.

She added the Boy Scouts’ Scouting for Food drive brought in 6,525 pounds of food, about 500 pounds more than last year.

The pantry also partnered with St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish to offer a free hot meal on Thanksgiving Day to anyone who is needy or lonely.

“It is always my hope that people can spend holidays with family and friends, and this year many of our clients have reported that they’re going out of town to see their loved ones. It doesn’t get any better than that!,” she said.

Kolander added that she did not have information on the number of families that would be served over Christmas, but noted it would be more than Thanksgiving.

To find out how to donate, volunteer or for more information about the pantry, call (408) 946-5564.