It’s a time for families across the United States to come together around bountiful plates of food. However, the plates could be sparce or empty for some people in need this holiday. A local food pantry says it needs the public’s help. A week before  Thanksgiving Pantry 279 in Ellettsville was extremely low on donations for their annual Thanksgiving baskets. They still need over 6,000 donations of food items to help more than 1,000 families. As of now, they only have enough for a few hundred families.

Pantry 279 is a part of Trinity Lutheran Church. The church derived it’s name from the acronym TLC-tender, loving, care. The pantry started three years ago by two teen girls who wanted to help their friend. They never knew how many people were in need until the lines formed out the door. Two years ago they decided to provide a traditional Thanksgiving meal for all families in the area in need. The baskets include all the traditional foods from mashed potatoes to turkey and ham, and pumpkin pie to macaroni and cheese.

The pantry said that although donations have picked up, they’re nervous it still will not be enough. The director of the pantry, Cindy Chavez, said that the strongest areas of need are canned yams, canned hams and filled salt and pepper shakers. Salt and pepper are simple home spices that assistant director, Juanita Hoffman, said she couldn’t believe some people went without. It was with this realization that she truly knew the impact that Pantry 279 had on people in the community.

“We’ll find a way,” Hoffman said regarding the shortage in donations. “As crass at it sounds, if people can’t make food donations, we’ll take cash. Then we can take that money and buy the food we need for the families who need it most,” said Chavez.

If you want more information on how to donate to the pantry, you can visit their website.