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Food banks prep for the holidays

The East Texas Food bank estimates 250,000 people will need assistance this holiday season.

TYLER, Texas — Just like that- Thanksgiving is right around the corner. The East Texas Food Bank (ETFB) said they’re stuffed.

“This is the time of the year when we're really getting stocked up because we have a big rush coming,” said CEO Dennis Cullinane. 

The food bank's distribution center houses thousands of cans and other food items to be disbursed this holiday season. Cullinane said there are almost a quarter million people in need.

This year will be ETFB's second holiday season serving during the pandemic and they’ve learned some lessons from last year.

Cullinane said, “I think our agencies have returned to having choices, you know, where people can actually go in and shop. During the pandemic last year, it was just a box, and you didn't get much choice. So we're hopeful that our clients will be able to have more control and choices over the meals that they get.”

ETFB teams up with 200 distributors to minimize food insecurity- including PATH. Chapel hill resident Debbie Garcia has 6 mouths to feed and said she’s leaned on PATH for many holiday seasons in the past.

Garcia said, “They supplied us with food to be able to make a holiday. There were some years we didn’t think we would have a Christmas dinner or Thanksgiving dinner, but PATH made sure they provided everything that we needed to provide for me and my children in my household.”

She said the holidays, a season all about spending quality time with loved ones, shouldn’t be overshadowed by an empty dinner table

Garcia added, “The most important time is not like opening gifts or stuff like that. That's cute, but the most important thing is when you sit down to that meal together and you say that prayer together and you say thanks to God for what you do have and what you're able to eat.”

There will be no shortage of people in need this holiday season- Cullinane said demand is high and fortunately they’ve got the supply to match.

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