Preparations are well underway at the OnCenter for the Salvation Army’s Christmas Bureau distribution on Monday.
Friday, a forklift operator unloaded a Wegmans truck filled with 19-thousand pounds of non-perishable goods including canned vegetables and fruit, juice, sauces, coffee, cocoa, and tea. That includes 27-hundred bags of potatoes, which Salvation Army Marketing Manager Greg Meitus says wasn’t expected.
In all, Carter estimates the value of the food at $40,000. All of the items will be sorted and placed in food baskets for 2,500 needy Syracuse-area families, including 7,000 children.
Meitus says a lot of credit goes out to the corporate community, which steps up year after year with donations and teams of volunteers to make the day possible.
A total of 800 volunteers will be on site Monday, inlcluding a number of youth groups, to make sure needy families have food on the table and gifts under the tree this Christmas.
