SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – For the second year in a row, the Marcella Foundation is running a food drive to help feed community members and support local food pantries. Throughout the month of November, businesses are invited to host a collection bin to accept non-perishable food donations.

As a lead up to Thanksgiving, they are also sourcing high-demand items to create a holiday meal. The Marcella Foundation’s goal is to fill 500 bags of Thanksgiving sides to match a donation of 500 turkeys from the El Dorado County Community Turkey Drive. For the third year in a row, Kings Meats, a butcher shop located on the west slope, is bringing turkeys to South Lake Tahoe, which is spread between multiple organizations, who then pass them out to families. Together, they plan to provide not only turkeys, but a whole Thanksgiving meal to 500 neighbors. 

There are multiple simple, yet impactful ways to participate in the food drive and help get food into the community leading up to the holidays. All materials, including the cardboard collection bin, branded tote bags, and flyers, are provided by the Marcella Foundation to get partners onboarded. 

If you’re a business, here are ways to participate:

• Host a collection bin at your business to have community members drop-off non-perishable food items that volunteers will pick up and donate
• Offer Fall Food Drive tote bags for community members to fill up with Thanksgiving sides and drop-off at your business that volunteers will pick up and donate
• Have your staff members each fill up a Fall Food Drive tote bag to help reach the goal of 500 bags filled 
• Donate surplus food from your business–anything from prepared trays of food to wholesale items you cannot use

If you are a business that would like to participate, please visit the website below to sign up, receive your food drive materials, and start accepting donations! 

If you would like to participate in the Fall Food Drive in another way, please come to the Marcella Foundation’s Volunteer Kickoff event on October 22nd at Cowork Tahoe at 10am to explore volunteer opportunities, food rescue logistics, and ways to support this work.  

All food donations go to local recipients, such as Christmas Cheer All Year, Family Resource Center, Phoenix Food Pantry, Boys & Girls Club, Tahoe Youth and Family Services, SOS Outreach, Catalyst Community, and many more. 

To learn more about the Fall Food Drive and to sign up to participate, please visit the website: http://www.feedtahoe.org/fallfooddrive 

If you would like to learn more about the El Dorado County Community Turkey Drive, please visit this site to support their efforts: https://edcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=3640