The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated many families’ Thanksgiving plans, but for some, that goes beyond deciding not to visit with extended family and friends for the holiday. A drastic reduction in tourism business means many families in the Northern Susitna Valley are struggling to put together a meal at all.
For about 200 of those families, help came on Saturday from the Upper Susitna Food Pantry, which held its annual Thanksgiving Blessing event at Church on the Rock. The majority of families who received a turkey and all the fixings for a big meal did so in the church parking lot as the Talkeetna Community Emergency Response team directed traffic. Other families are in quarantine, and received boxes via a no-contact dropoff at their homes.
LouAnne Carrol-Tysdal is the food pantry’s executive director. She says the distribution went smoothly, and that the Upper Susitna Food Pantry had enough turkeys for everyone.
“The one thing for us that was amazing…we did not run out of boxes and turkeys. Part of the reason for that is I had an anxiety attack a couple of weeks ago and ordered forty extra turkeys.”
In addition to holiday meals, LouAnne says usage of the pantry has been steadily rising as the pandemic has gone on. While it’s normal for need to increase during the winter months, she says this year is bringing in a lot of new faces.
“There families I’ve never seen before needing to use the pantry, and under normal circumstances, they never, ever would have to. This year, we’re seeing a lot more of that.”
The other significant change in pantry clientele is that family sizes are increasing. LouAnne Carroll-Tysdal says that’s because some adult children are moving back in with their parents for financial reasons.
The Upper Susitna Food Pantry has made it through the increased demand thus far, including expanding hours and allowing families to take more food per month. That has been made possible by support from various foundations and emergency funding programs, but LouAnne says much of that funding is on a ticking clock.
“I looked around at every place I could find funding, because the numbers are large. Unfortunately, most of the funding that was emergency funding had to be expended by December 30th.”
LouAnne Carroll-Tysdal hopes that further emergency measures will allow for continued extra funding as the pandemic and its economic impacts continue.
Next month, the Upper Susitna Food Pantry plans to distribute Christmas meals in addition to their regular weekly openings. Unlike for the Thanksgiving Blessing, LouAnne Carroll-Tysdal says families will need to contact the pantry if they will need a Christmas box.
The Upper Susitna Food Pantry can be reached at 733-3358.
