By Meg Peters
Review Staff Writer
The Oxford/Orion Fish provided 173 turkey certificates, pies and other Thanksgiving goodies to their needy families after collecting nearly 15,000 pounds of donations from the local communities.
The Holiday Food Drive has put the low-income family grocery into good shape for the holidays, co-treasurer Ron Wood said during sorting day last week.
Twenty-four Chrysler engineers from Auburn Hills, along with a dozen regular volunteers for Oxford/Orion Fish worked their feathers off last weekend at the food pantry location in Oxford Township, checking expiration dates, sorting and packing donated items into the Thanksgiving baskets.
‘The communities are awesome. Anytime we need any help we ask and they supply it, so we are very impressed with that. They take very good care of the pantry,? Julie Howald, vice president, said.
Almost all of the schools in Lake Orion and Oxford participated in the Holiday Food Drive, as well as many local churches of Orion and Oxford. Earlier in the week volunteer drivers went from school to school picking up canned goods and Thanksgiving musts, including green beans, cranberries, yams, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, mushroom soup’the works? but the largest haul was the last day of the drive, Friday, Nov. 21 were drivers pulled in with 10,000 pounds of food, Wood estimates.
Volunteers sorted food Friday, packed baskets Saturday, and the pantry’s regular clientele picked up their baskets Sunday, a happy ending two weeks of organizing.
Clients are pre-approved, and are invited to the food pantry once a month at a specific time to go grocery shopping for free. Food is given to residents of Oxford, Orion, Addison and Oakland Townships based on the size of the family.
The turkey baskets were an extra perk for the holidays, when the need is typically greater, Howald said.
Although the pantry is in good shape for the upcoming festivities, donations are always needed, particularly items like canned soup and pasta for winter months. Canned tuna and chicken, canned fruit, spaghettios, and ravioli also leave the shelves of the friendly pantry quickly too. Fish volunteers ask that donated items are not expired because they cannot be distributed.
Donations can be dropped off at the Lake Orion, Oxford post offices, Addison Township offices, Oxford Village offices, St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lake Orion, Holiday Market on Lapeer, the Lake Orion United Methodist Church, Grondin’s Hair Center in Lake Orion, Paul’s Barber Shop in Oxford, and of course the Oxford/Orion FISH pantry located at 487 First St. in Oxford Township.
If you are in need, or know somebody else that could use a little extra help during any season, contact the FISH hotline number at?248-628-3933.?