Anytime is a good time for giving, but as the weather turns cold and people continue to suffer the negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, community support during the holidays is needed more than ever. There won’t be a Thanksgiving or Christmas day meal served in the TASK dining room this year, however, the soup kitchen still needs your help in filling food baskets and providing other items for families and individuals.

Demand is greatest this winter for adult clothing. New heavy hooded sweatshirts, hats, gloves, scarves, coats and full-sized hygiene products can go a long way toward keeping our patrons clean, warm and dry.

“People ask why we do this every year,” said Charlie Orth, TASK coordinator in the office of Volunteer and  Patron Services. “Some of our population is homeless, live in shelters and they have nowhere to keep a jacket or a sweater when the seasons change. There are no lockers at the shelters. So, it’s essential – if we want to keep them as healthy as possible – we have to collect every year.”

In addition to outerwear which TASK will collect until the end of February, the soup kitchen as always, will collect food to provide holiday meals for people struggling with hunger and food insecurity. As the 90 percent jump in food service production over last year at TASK is a clear indicator of the area’s growing demand, its anticipated that the number of folks in need of food at the holidays will be higher than years past.

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