Sherry Hooper, executive director for The Food Depot, Northern New Mexico's largest food bank, said that the holidays are the time of year when people are extra generous. Even in the face of a struggling economy, people still are reaching out to the Food Depot.

"This is the season of giving, so people tend to think about people who might be less fortunate than them," Hooper said. "We see an increase in our financial contributions and our food donations and food drives."

This holiday season, the Food Depot is making it easier for people to donate by holding various food drives and events for the community.

Help the hungry

If you've been to Wild Oats in the last few weeks, a cashier has probably asked if you'd like to purchase a bag for the hungry. Customers can purchase "Grab and Give" bags that cost
$5 for breakfast or $10 for lunch and dinner. The pre-packaged bags are collected by drivers from the Food Depot daily.

Mariann Lovato, marketing and demo specialist for Wild Oats, said the number of bags purchased depends on how busy they are, but there have been up to 100 bags a day purchased.

"I've been really impressed with the positive response from our customers," Lovato said. "I think people get in the holiday giving spirit."

The bags provide a full meal to a family of four. This program runs until Dec. 31.

"We really encourage people to step up their efforts to help the hungry during the holidays," Hooper said. "We want to make sure that everyone gets to sit down to a traditional holiday meal."

The Santa Fe New Mexican is among several businesses in town holding food drives. The newspaper will collect non-perishable holiday food items such as cranberry sauce, canned yams, stuffing mixes, pasta, rice, dried beans, canned vegetables and canned meats, all of which can be dropped off at the paper, 202 E. Marcy St. Frozen turkeys are also accepted but only if they are taken to the Food Depot's Siler Road location. Smith's grocery stores in Santa Fe and Los Alamos and The Santa Fe Reporter are holding similar drives.

More families are looking for help this year, so the Food Depot is asking the community for a little bit more in donations.

It is during these tough economic times that families who are struggling take a look at their budget and see where they can cut expenses, Hooper said.

"Working families have a small budget, and they have to pay those fixed expenses such as rent or mortgage, fuel and heating costs — which are going to start going up now that it's starting to get cold — and they're finding that the most flexible piece of their budget is their food budget."

Hooper said that most people are paying their fixed bills and finding they have less money to work with, which makes shopping with higher food prices a challenge.

"They're not able to get nearly enough to feed their families," Hooper said.

The Food Depot reported a
14 percent growth in people asking for help from local agencies last quarter.

Taste the holidays

For the third year, Santa Feans will be given a chance to taste delicious holiday foods, sample drinks and bid on items during the silent auction at the annual Taste of the Holidays sponsored by Whole Foods Market on Cerrillos Road.

"Whole Foods provides all the food and what they do is they provide a nice sampling of different holiday dishes," Hooper said.

The event will also feature cookie decorating for the kids, entertainment and door prizes. It will be from 5-7 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Elks Lodge, 1615 Old Pecos Trail. Tickets are $20 for adults, $5 for children age 6-12 and free for children 5 and under. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Whole Foods, the Food Depot or by visiting www.thefooddepot.com.

"It's just a really nice holiday event," Hooper said. "(People) can come and have some really wonderful food."

Giving back

Hooper said that donations this holiday season are remaining steady and donors are still giving back but in some cases they are not able to give as much as they had in previous years. There are also donors who are getting innovative with their donations.

Santa Fe resident Gillian McHugh, 84, recently put on a piano recital for friends and community members to raise money for the Food Depot, a cause that she's been known to give to in the past.

"I've heard a lot about the work they do and I think they're amazing how they help poverty-stricken families," McHugh said. "I thought it was such a worthy cause that I would like to do something special."

McHugh was trained as a concert pianist at the Royal Academy of London and although she suffers from arthritis, she still plays.

"I still have a little piano left in me," McHugh said with a laugh.

The event raised $1,640 for the Food Depot.

"People were very generous," McHugh said.

Hooper said a family who usually donates has opted not to buy each other Christmas gifts this year and will instead give that money to the Food Depot.

Tough times

Despite the continued generosity of its donors, the Food Depot is still having problems making ends meet, Hooper said, because of the economic downturn.

Hooper said the Food Depot, area food banks and food pantries are experiencing an increase in the number of people who are looking for emergency food help, but the Food Depot has seen a
26 percent decrease in supplies to distribute.

"So many working families are struggling just to make ends meet," Hooper said. "The same things that are impacting working families are also impacting the Food Depot — fuel costs, although they've gone down a little bit, are still much higher than they were a few years ago, and that's affecting our ability to get food out to people in need and to actually pick up the donations that are available to us."

In addition to high fuel costs, the Food Depot is affected by the rising cost of food.

"Because we've seen a decrease in donations of food from some of our more traditional sources like food manufacturers, we're finding we have to purchase more food," Hooper said. "Our costs for purchasing that food have gone through the roof."

Want to help?

The Food Depot reports that for every dollar donated, it can provide four meals to people who are in need. The Food Depot is always looking for donors and volunteers to help the cause.

If you're interested in starting your own food drive, donating food or volunteering, call
471-1633.

Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.