AURORA | If Aurora needed a reason to crank up the thanks this season, the Salvation Army is delivering it by the truckload.
“I think we all have a part to play in being able to help our neighbors,” the Salvation Army’s Lt. Carl Esquivel said.
With demand still surging at one of the Front Range’s busiest food pantries, Lt. Carl Esquivel and his team are cooking up two days of gratitude that are set to be turkey-riffic. Their cornucopia of care will include one day of giving away family-sized food boxes with whole turkeys for families to cook at home, and a full day of family fun and feasting in their own Thanksgiving celebration.
The Salvation Army is also asking those with an abundance to help where they can, since the Federal Government shutdown caused many additional families to need food from the Aurora Salvation Army’s food pantry, resulting in up to 110% more need from the pantry since October.
The Aurora Salvation Army will be distributing 300–350 food boxes, each containing an average-sized 14-pound turkey, and a full Thanksgiving meal for the family to gobble down.
“For us, a food box is not just a food box, it’s a bit of hope and joy that we’re trying to spread to the city of Aurora in the midst of a very stressful season,” Esquivel said.
The Salvation Army will be handing out food boxes from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday at 802 Quarry Court.
It’s “first come, first served,” Esquivel said.
And this year’s numbers are no small potatoes. Esquivel said they typically hand out 200–250 boxes, but due to soaring need following the recent government shutdown and an avalanche of families seeking help, they’ve upped it by 100 extra boxes.
The Thanksgiving feast is also much larger than in previous years.
For its fourth year hosting the event, the Salvation Army is serving a hot meal to about 400 people, a number that has ballooned from just 30 visitors the first year. The feast will be from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at 802 Quarry Court.
The family fun celebration will have an indoor bounce house, games galore, axe throwing, along with warm food, warm company and a warm place to be. The Aurora Police Department will also be there to build community relationships, Esquivel said.
“One is to allow families to cook with their own families, and then the other one is for those who maybe don’t want to cook, can’t cook, or if they don’t have a place of refuge,” Esquivel said. “They can come hang out with their families and us.”
The Salvation Army was able to multiply its ability to provide meals this year through local churches, government partners, individual donors, food drives and other financial contributions.
And if more than 400 people show up? “We’ll do our best to accommodate,” he said
For those who have plans but want to help where they can, Aurora’s Salvation Army food pantry could use a little love.
During the shutdown, the Aurora pantry saw a 110% increase in weekly need, burning through December’s budget in October, Esquivel said. While donations have come in, the Salvation Army is still seeing the effects. Arapahoe County chipped in $30,000 for three weeks, but that emergency support ended.
“At one point, our services increased by 110%. So, the first two weeks it was about 94%, almost 100%,” Esquivel said. “By the end of it, it was 110% on a weekly basis.”
Now they’re heading into December with a tight budget and lingering shortages.
Even a couple (non-expired) cans of food in the back of a home pantry can help the public pantry a lot.
“We can all support, even if it’s a small can of non-perishables or whatever it is,” Esquivel said. “Drop by drop, the jar gets full. So I think we all have a part to play in being able to help our neighbors.”
The food pantry hours will change this week due to the holiday.
Food pantry hours are typically Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a lunch break from noon to 1 p.m., located at 802 Quarry Court. People can donate to the food pantry from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
How to get or to give
What: Food box distribution
When: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Salvation Army Aurora Corps, 802 Quarry Court, on Del Mar Circle
What: Hot Thanksgiving meal and family activities
When: Noon to 2 p.m. Thursday
Where: Salvation Army Aurora Corps, 802 Quarry Court, on Del Mar Circle
What: How to donate food or cash to the Red Cross
When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday at 802 Quarry Court, on Del Mar Circle
How: Any food, especially nonperishable and nonexpired
For cash donations and other details: aurora.salvationarmy.org/