Holiday Helpers

A few years back, some members of the Seaside Elks recognized that there were a number of families including those with the elderly, young children and adults without the means to afford adequate food and many of our veterans. Winter holidays are especially difficult for them to get by.  Historically, some Elks lodges have made an effort to help these families either at the November or December holiday seasons. A few of the members began the process to do something to help.  Step 1 was getting approval from the lodge's governing body.  Upon approval, step 2 meant acquiring funds to purchase needed food. Step 3 was preparing a list of those who were in need of the basics aid for the meals with step 4 being the packing and distribution of the food.

​

To make a long story short, in 2025, we were able to prepare and distribute 206 boxes of food that fed approximately 1,200 people in the Seaside area. The photos below show some of the people who gathered for the labor intensive parts of the 4 day process.

​

Day 1 Friday, 08:00 am: Gather almost a ton and a half of fruit, vegetables and dry goods.

Day 2 Saturday, 10:00 am: Organize boxes and fill according to the size of family that they will go to.

Day 3 Sunday: 08;00 am: Pickup the meet including about 200 turkeys, half a dozen chickens and cooked chicken for those who do not have an adequate stove for cooking. At 11 am, the doors are opened for families to come pickup their boxes and meat. At 6:00 pm the few boxes that get delivered to older or infirm families are delivered.

Day 4, this is cleanup day and some who had to work on Sunday drop by to pickup their meals.