Feeling stuffed

You might be stuffing a turkey today, but last weekend it was a Lane Transit District EmX bus that got stuffed. And that makes Dawn Marie Woodward very thankful.

“I think people understand that the recession is not over and a lot of people are in a bleak situation,” said Woodward, events coordinator for FOOD for Lane County.

The food bank’s annual “Stuff the Bus” event that seeks food and toy donations began in 1996. Last November, the two-day event garnered donations totaling 2,662 pounds. Not bad considering the times we live in. But last Friday and Saturday, during stops at four area Bi-Mart stores, donations totaled 5,618 pounds, more than twice last year’s haul.

Although that’s only about one-third of what FOOD for Lane County receives in donations on any given day, it’s still a healthy amount for the “Stuff the Bus” event.

Imagine the 22 players who make up the No. 1-ranked University of Oregon football team’s starting offense and defense (total weight: 5,227 pounds) sitting on an LTD bus, and being driven around by, say a 391-pound bus driver, and you get the idea.

Woodward said she believes the more than doubling of the donations for the event is a sign that local giving to area nonprofit organizations — despite an ongoing economic recession that has not let up much, and a recent federal report that says Oregon changed only one notch (from second to third) among the nation’s hungriest states — just might be improving. And people’s hearts feeling perhaps just a bit more for the less fortunate among us.

“I think people are deeply and painfully aware of the need,” United Way of Lane County Executive Director Priscella Gould said. “And I think people are feeling more thankful.”

The “Stuff the Bus” donations contribute to FOOD for Lane County’s holiday-time distribution supply to the 96 area organizations it supports, from Catholic Community Services of Lane County to St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County to 27 food pantries in towns such as Creswell, Cottage Grove and Oakridge.

Donations to FOOD for Lane County are critical for organizations such as Catholic Community Services of Lane County, which provides assistance to low-income and disadvantaged people, just before Thanksgiving.

All 25 seats in the waiting area of CCSLC’s West Sixth Avenue site were full, while others stood and even more waited in the parking lot about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, Executive Director Ed Monks said. All were there to receive Thanksgiving Day food boxes.

“What I saw was so many people who had smiles on their faces,” Monks said. “I love when our organization plays a part in that. People show up and they’re happy as heck to get it, and we’re happy to give it.”

Catholic Community Services relies primarily on volunteers to make food boxes and hand them out, Monks said.

“They’re there because they enjoy doing it,” he said.

Over at FOOD for Lane County’s Bailey Hill Road facility on Wednesday, volunteers Dave Schroeder and Forrest Wilcox sorted through a cardboard box 4-feet tall and wide and deep, separating the “Stuff the Box” donations into smaller boxes that will be distributed to the organizations the food bank supports.

“I just enjoy it,” said Wilcox, a 63-year-old retiree who spent 25 years in the food business. “Gets me out of the house. Keeps my wife happy,” he said with a grin.

Corn Chex. Cans of corn. Top Ramen. Cheese Puffs. Fettucine Alfredo in a box. Spaghetti and meatballs in a can. Ragu spaghetti sauce. Stove Top stuffing. Peanut butter. It will all go to feed someone who otherwise would go without eating.

The federal report, released last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Oregon is still one of the worst states in the nation when it comes to households that do not have regular access to healthy food. It was a reminder to those Oregonians who are more fortunate that fellow residents are still hurting, Woodward said.

“I really think that drove home the point to people, that this is really important,” she said. Many Oregonians are still unemployed, having lost their jobs during the recession, Woodward said. “And a lot of their benefits are running out,” she said, referring to savings, unemployment benefits and severance pay.

Alabama ranked as the hungriest state in the nation with 6.8 percent of about 1.5 million households not having regular access to healthy food, according to the report. Maine was No. 2 at 6.7 percent, and Oregon No. 3 at 6.6 percent.

With almost 4 million residents now in the state, that would mean almost a quarter million Oregonians fit into the “hungriest” category.

How many LTD buses would they fill?