Around 60 volunteers helped distribute 500 Christmas meals to people in need of food in the Tacoma area.
TACOMA, Wash. — Hundreds of people in Pierce County were able to get a free Christmas meal on Wednesday thanks to a thoughtful community.
Dozens of volunteers and multiple organizations and businesses came together to prepare and give out the meals at the First United Methodist Church in Tacoma.
“Food is for the soul, you know? And that gives us happiness,” said Shawn Tibbitts. “It’s about the holidays, coming together, giving.”
Shawn Tibbitts started the Christmas meal giveaway nine years ago at his restaurant Tibbitts at Fernhill.
“I was feeding maybe 50 people, and it just grew, grew, grew,” said Tibbitts.
This year he partnered with numerous other groups including the Tahoma Indian Center, Bio-One South Sound, The Stone Soup Collaborative, and around 60 volunteers to serve around 500 people.
“A lot of folks, they don’t have the resources to cook full meals, or they don’t know how, and times are rough,” said Tibbetts.
Tibbitts is Alaska Native, and many tribal members helped with this effort.
“We have Muckleshoot, Puyallup, a couple Nisqually were here,” said Tibbitts.
They were serving people through scheduled deliveries and pick-ups and had a walk-up table where people walking by on the street could grab a warm meal.
“We feed everybody, it’s not just our people, it’s all the nations and all the cultures and families,” said Tibbitts.
The Tahoma Indian Center, which helped organize the event, works to restore native wellness and they assist many people who are unhoused in the community.
“They may be in a bit of a bind right now, a lot of them, it’s not what people think,” said Patience Tandal, with the Tahoma Indian Center. “They’re not just on the streets for drugs and alcohol, it’s way more than that, way more.”
She said events like this show those people that there are others who care, and that is important.
“It reminds us about humanity, compassion for people,” said Tandal.
The non-profit, The Stone Soup Collaborative, has been helping people who are food insecure in Pierce County since 2007 and was a part of today’s event.
“I think food insecurity is a big problem, and I think it’s one that continues to need to be addressed,” said Nils McKenney, one of the co-founders of The Stone Soup Collaborative.
He said he wants to help feed people because others once showed care to him.
“When I was living on the street, homeless, there were people and organizations that fed me without any judgment,” said McKenney. “So, when I was no longer on the street, it was a calling for me.”
The people who volunteered today said this is the season of giving.
“That’s what it’s about, it’s community, it’s Christmas, it’s coming together for one purpose and that’s feeding people,” said Tibbitts.
Dining and Cooking