Issaquah church saves 500 Thanksgiving dinners | Photos

Published 12:16 pm Saturday, November 19, 2011

Like the 500 families that visited Eastridge Church Saturday, Belinda Boston doubted she could have afforded a Thanksgiving bird.

Her employer cut her hours in half about a year ago, and with a 7-year-old son, the holiday season can be costly. Saturday was the second time the church’s turkey giveaway saved the holiday for her family. It’s the ninth year the program has been running.

“It fosters a sense of community,” she said, cutting through lines with her bag of groceries, “especially when we’re in a recession.”

For the church, it’s about giving families something to be thankful for. When families focus on what they have instead of what they don’t, it builds a spirit of encouragement, said Pastor Steve Jamison.

“We’re not solving their problems,” he conceded. “We just want them to know that someone cares.”

Families lined up outside the church an hour before the giveaway began. With children clinging to their legs, parents circled through the white tents, picking up potatoes and boxes of stuffing. The frozen birds were almost always received with smiles, and for some, teary eyes.

Volunteer Norm Englund watched as families of his own church passed through the lines. Being unemployed himself, he sympathized, but was glad this year to be on the side of the table giving out the food, he said. “It feels good to help.”

The first year the church began the Thanksgiving meal program, families came with their overdue heating bills to prove their need. Jamison put them at ease, there was no needs test.At first most of the people who showed up were from the immediate area, but now families come from throughout the county.

Eastridge’s Seattle location, which only has a couple hundred people, gives away 500 birds in the first 20 minutes of the day.

Mostly families passed through the lines at Saturday’s Turkey Giveaway at Eastridge Church. CELESTE GRACEY, ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH REPORTER

Khiem Pham of Redmond, receives a free turkey at Eastridge Church’s Turkey giveaway. Pham was one of 500 families to receive the free bird in Issaquah this year. BY CELESTE GRACEY, ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH REPORTER