LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A holiday fundraiser to benefit the Lake County Hunger Task Force is returning this holiday season.
The Bountiful Gift Box is available for purchase again this year after being so well received the past two Christmas seasons.
The gift boxes contain Comice pears, a bottle of wine, walnuts, and apples from Lake County producers.
There are a limited number of Bountiful Gift Boxes – approximately 125 – and they go very quickly.
One hundred percent of the proceeds are donated directly to the Lake County Hunger Task Force, an all-volunteer organization seeking to provide fresh produce and nutritionally sound food to needy local residents through creation of community gardens, canning lessons and equipment donation, and regular food distribution.
Those needs of the hungry in our community have increased dramatically with the loss of two local food pantries in 2011.
“Lake County has a greater need than ever for food to help those on fixed incomes make their budgets stretch to the end of each month,” said Hunger Task Force volunteer Lorrie Gray.
“The elderly have been especially hit hard by the economy, with many making the choice between medications, rent, and food,” Gray explained. “They have no safety net, and we would like to help provide them with as much healthy food as we possibly can. They are less likely to take advantage of the Cal Fresh program, when eligible, than other age groups.”
Twenty-two percent of the population in Lake Co. is over age 65 and may not be eligible for food assistance.
Only 10 percent of those eligible do apply, for many it is fear of the process or the ethic of a generation unused to asking for assistance.
Sixty-nine percent of the school-aged children in Lake County are eligible for school lunches due to the limited economic resources of their families.
“The Bountiful Gift Box Project is such a beautiful effort to be involved with,” said Michelle Scully, one of the project’s organizers.
“The generosity of the local producers is so great and the response by both gift box purchasers and receivers is always overwhelmingly positive,” she said. “It's really awesome to be part of such a win-win project. The gift givers felt like they were giving a truly thoughtful and meaningful gift, the recipients loved experiencing the wonderful products we produce here in Lake County, and over the last two years the HTF received over $11,000 to continue all of the great work they do for our community. It’s hard to beat something like that.”
Gift boxes are $50 and purchasers may request red or white wine and requests will be honored as supply dictates. Once again this year there will be a very limited number of boxes available with olive oil rather than wine.
If you miss out on the boxes or would also like to contribute more to help stop hunger in our community, you can make a donation toward the purchase of a grocery holiday gift card for a senior citizen.
“This allows the seniors to purchase food that they prefer and in the quantities they need over time rather than all at once,” said Gray.
These gift cards may be given in a recipients name and a card specifying the donation will be provided.
“The first year we did this the gift box idea came together really quickly and we made do with what we had in terms of packaging,” said Scully. “We’ve been so fortunate to have had specially designed gift boxes donated to the project from the packaging company International Paper.”
She added, “The box is just awesome and is a package that people will be proud to give and to receive. I hear nothing but good things from people who have either ordered one or received one which is pretty exciting. People who have purchased a box before start asking about them early on as they know they make a wonderful gift and they sell-out very quickly. I hope that everyone who donated products, purchased a box, and received a gift box will be just as happy with its presentation.”
Anyone interested in purchasing a gift box may contact Lorrie Gray at 707-277-9227 or via email to Michelle Scully at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Boxes are $50 and numbers are limited. Distribution is scheduled for Dec. 7 at the Lake County Family Resource Center parking lot, 5350 Main St., Kelseyville.