TULSA, Okla. — Dec. 22 is the final day for people to help with the "Stock The Station" food drive.
Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma is asking people to deliver non-perishable food items to Tulsa-area fire and police stations.
All donations will go toward Tulsans in need during the holidays by helping stock Catholic Charities’ food pantry and market in Tulsa.
HOW DOES CATHOLIC CHARITIES' MARKET WORK
As for how the market works, Catholic Charities' CEO, Deacon Kevin Sartorius, explained, “What we do is, we have people come in each morning. We kind of screen them for need, and then what we’ll do is get them a shopping basket, and they get to shop through the market and choose the food that they like. It’s our hope that they’ll leave with about seven days of food. They come just a few times a year, and we’re able to get them over a hump and help them have a great holiday.”
- Previous coverage >>> Catholic Charities opens new client-based food pantry
It's not just food they can pick out. Participants can also choose any other essential items they would find at a grocery store — like diapers, toilet paper, or LED lights.
Families collectively pick up about 250,000 pounds of food at the market each month, with more than 2.5 million pounds of food collected this past year.
Sartorius told 2 News the organization serves about 150 to 200 families each day. However, he said the number of families coming for food assistance at the market has risen significantly.
“We’ve had probably almost twice as many people come every day as it was just a few years ago," Sartorius said. "And we notice the food prices have radically increased, especially when it comes to the staples like meat and eggs and things like that."
"People just have a hard time making ends meet," he continued, "and we’re here as a community to kind of help step into that gap.”
“This need doesn’t really dissipate after the holidays," the deacon emphasized. "I mean, some people have seasonal work that maybe helps them and keeps them out of the pantry or out of the market."
"But," he added, "the need goes on.”
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Drop off non-perishable food items at any Tulsa fire station, police station, and the City of Tulsa Municipal Court. They will accept drop-offs from 8am to 5pm on Dec. 22.
To take part in the market, the address is 2450 N. Harvard Ave. in Tulsa. It opens at 9am each day.
Donate money to the Stock The Station drive online by clicking here. Anyone interested in volunteering at the market, you can click here to sign up.
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