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In the parking lot of the Little Chapel in Cordova, Alaska, Alaska Divisional Commander Major Henry Graciani stood, taking the name of each family as they drove up to receive their food box at the Thanksgiving Blessing distribution, which is coordinated through the Food Bank of Alaska, Nov. 21.
“I was especially moved by the grateful heart of each person I had met,” he said. “For some, it was their first time receiving assistance from The Salvation Army and it was with great reluctance that they admitted they needed help. Many even said, ‘If there’s not enough, I can find another way to have a meal on Thanksgiving Day.’”
This year marked the first time residents of the more remote stretches of Alaska received the traditional turkey and all the trimmings through the Thanksgiving Blessing food box program. For 20 years, the effort has brought holiday meal essentials to those in need to communities on the state’s road system across Southcentral Alaska, amounting to some 12,000 ready-to-make Thanksgiving meals.
For the event’s milestone anniversary, the food bank invited The Salvation Army to partner to expand the effort to Cordova, as The Salvation Army is an Alaska Food Bank partner agency receiving The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) commodities for the Cordova Service Extension Unit’s food pantry, which serves around 60 families a month.
“Thanksgiving is a time to remind our communities that they are not forgotten and to do a little extra for them during their time of need.”
Major Henry Graciani, The Salvation Army Alaska Divisional Commander
The move made the city the first off-the-road-system Thanksgiving Blessing project—during the winter the only transportation to Cordova is by airplane, with most goods being shipped by barge.
“Thanksgiving is a time to remind our communities that they are not forgotten and to do a little extra for them during their time of need,” Graciani said. “In each community where we have a corps or Service Extension, it is our mission to feed those who need food for Thanksgiving, for Christmas but also throughout the year.
Given the cost of living, especially in rural Alaska, feeding your family can be a significant challenge. The Salvation Army partners with each local community, company and government agency to secure the resources needed to feed those who are hungry throughout the year.”
Alaska Divisional Emergency/Disaster Services and Service Extension Director Jenni Ragland said for the Cordova Blessing event, The Salvation Army partnered early on with the Native Village of Eyak Food Assistance Program to help lead the effort to distribute some 200 food boxes.
“Space was a key consideration in planning and we are grateful for the support of Little Chapel in Cordova who opened their doors to serve as a host location for the distribution,” she said.
Prior to the event, a team of volunteers, from cub scouts to elders, came to help pack the more than 6,735 pounds of food that made up the food boxes. Much of the food arrived by barge and air cargo, supported by Alaska Marine Lines (AML) and Alaska Airlines cargo.
Ragland said AML went above and beyond, delivering not only the dry goods that arrived by barge but also moving the produce and turkeys from Alaska Airlines the day of distribution.
To supplement the efforts, Mt. Eccles Elementary School held a canned food drive and the Alaska Commercial Company provided pre-packed food bags.
At the three-hour drive-through distribution event, food box recipients took home a frozen turkey, canned vegetables, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy mix, a pound of butter, five pounds of fresh potatoes, five pounds of apples and a roasting pan.
Cordova Police Department helped with traffic control, and a local Cub Scout troop used its normal meeting time to help carry turkeys, food boxes and produce to the vehicles.
“It was so inspiring to see the joy on others’ faces as we served the community,” Ragland said. “You could just feel the spirit of the community in the event.”
Graciani agreed, citing a reminder from Scripture, Isaiah 58:10: Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
“I am humbled by the generous support of so many that enables The Salvation Army to serve those who are hungry throughout the Alaska Division,” he said. “We strive to let the light of God shine as we serve so many who are struggling to make ends meet.”
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