Care and Share food bank stable for now

The Care and Share Food Bank last Friday gave out Christmas baskets of food to bout 150 clients, including families and a lot of elderly folks, said manager Carol Nordine. That number indicates need is up from past years. Last year’s big Christmas giveaway drew 115.

A story in The Star recently reported that Second Harvest, a major food distributor to local food banks, is cutting back deliveries in Okanogan County. Care and Share is on the same route, but Nordine noted they only supply about 10 percent of the locals pantry’s supplies. Concern had been raised that the slowdown by Second Harvest, which has said it is stopping deliveries to rural areas for three months because of supply issues, would severely curtail service to those in need locally.

But Nordine said Tuesday it’s not time to panic; the food bank is not running out of food yet.

Care and Share gets most of its supplies from Northwest Harvest and from agencies that deliver commodities, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, and sometimes meat.

She suggested the time might be right for a food or donation drive in the spring.