BAKER CITY — Customers who rounded up their grocery bill at Safeway and Albertsons during the last month helped provide 300 Thanksgiving meals for the community on Nov. 26.

The program, called Turkey Bucks, raised about $16,000, said Angela St. Claire, Albertsons store director.

That total allowed the Baker City Salvation Army to request 300 meals from the regional food bank, said Christina Earle, service extension director.

On Nov. 26, all the makings of a Thanksgiving dinner were delivered to the parking lot near Albertsons, where volunteers from law enforcement and emergency services helped unload boxes and pack food into bags.

“Many hands make light work,” Earle said with a smile.

Each dinner, packed into a reusable shopping bag, contained a turkey breast, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and rolls.

Last year, donations raised enough for 150 meals, St. Claire said. This time, any meals not claimed at the Albertsons event were taken to The Salvation Army’s food bank at 2502 Broadway St. in Baker City.

Looking ahead

St. Claire and Brandon Sweet, Safeway store director, said the upcoming Holiday Bucks program will also help local families.

Earle said she serves an average of 150 to 200 families each month at the food bank, and numbers are “slowly going up.”

The Salvation Army accepts applications for Christmas food boxes, which are delivered by the Baker City Fire Department. In addition to local fundraisers, Earle said monetary donations can help purchase food for the Christmas meals.

She said another way to help is to fulfill a gift wish on an Angel tree, or volunteer as a bell ringer for the red kettles.

“Right now, I have one,” Earle said.

Volunteers can sign up at registertoring.com.