A week after its hallmark holiday food drive, the Salvation Army is still counting boxes.
Firefighters and volunteers with the Huntsville Lake of Bays Fire Department went door to door on Dec. 1st collecting food donations in Project Porchlight.
With still about five pallets’ worth of items to count, Major Neil Evenden with Salvation Army Huntsville estimates more than 40,000 pounds of food was raised, around the same as last year.
“It’s been incredible. It was a beautiful night and the team did well,” says Evenden. “We’re trying to figure out exactly how we’re doing compared to last year. We’re down to our last hundred or so milk crates. If we need to go borrow more, that’s a sign we did as well as last year.”
According to Evenden, that should be enough to stock the shelves until summer of next year.
“Our biggest annual food drive is Project Porchlight, so we’re now in very very good condition to take us right through the winter,” says Evenden. “[We’ll] probably [get] into June or July before we’ll have to start getting too worried about being short on certain things and having to purchase them or have another food drive.”
Evenden says it takes some pressure off the organization, as the coming months are often when food banks see the most use.
“This need, in the winter is where it often peaks,” says Evenden. “There’s challenges with jobs: we are a tourist town and summer tends to be the best employment time. So we tend to see more people during the winter months. Heating costs are higher, they need to take taxis more often because they can’t walk as easily.”
If you missed a chance to donate during Project Porchlight, you can drop off food donations at the Salvation Army at 4 Mary St. East, or purchase premade donation bags at FreshCo or Metro in Huntsville.