TRAVERSE CITY —Stuffing 100 care packages with all the Thanksgiving fixings in a single morning might seem like a daunting task to some, but it's all gravy for Traverse City Elks Lodge members.
Some local lodge members estimate volunteers will complete the task in about 20 minutes when they gather Sunday to prep baskets filled with turkeys, yams, potatoes, rolls and more for distribution to local food pantries.
"They know what they're doing, and they have a good system," said Val Stone, coordinator of Northwest Food Coalition, an association of more than 60 food assistance pantries and programs in the Grand Traverse area.
Nancy Birnie-Vissher coordinates the food pantry at Traverse City Trinity Lutheran Church, one of the organizations slated to distribute 10 Thanksgiving meal baskets from the Elks to local families.
"It's the difference between either having Thanksgiving dinner or not," she said.
This weekend marks the sixth or seventh year that Traverse City Elks will prepare meal baskets for distribution to families in need through the coalition and pantries, said Jim Rowland, northwest district vice president for the Michigan Elks.
Rowland said the Elks Lodge this year will fund the meal giveaways with a $10,000 grant from the Elks Grand Lodge in Chicago. The same funding system last summer allowed the Elks to expand their meal program beyond the holiday season. On three different occasions last summer the lodge prepared 100 similar meal baskets for families in need.
Rowland said the group plans to do the same thing next summer, and added Elks officials are looking to double the program's output by partnering with other local organizations or individuals.
"That would be the best way to grow this program," Rowland said.
