Volunteers spent the day on Thursday packing Thanksgiving food baskets for needy residents of Bettendorf. It's an annual partnership between the police department and the Outreach Program of the Bettendorf School District, plus civic groups, businesses, and churches.
Outreach Coordinator Miryam Andrews-Ohlman says the baskets will be delivered to seniors and families, totaling about 450 people. And many need the extra help because of the pandemic and the derecho in August.
"We have families that have either lost their jobs or their hours have been cut. And so they're dealing with that loss of income and obviously there have been different federal and state programs to support families but from what I've seen it has not met the need that exists."
She says the government programs have strict requirements, and can be difficult to access because of the paperwork involved.
Some recipients will pick up their food baskets next week, with deliveries to seniors in Bettendorf the following week - for Thanksgiving that's on November 26th.
December first, they'll start preparing food and presents to be delivered in time for Christmas.
