By Danielle Smith

Leader Staff Writer

As the holidays approach, individuals are stocking up on those must-have items everyone dreams about seeing on their Thanksgiving table. However, not everyone’s pantries will be stocked this year, so Oxford/Orion FISH Food Pantry wants to do something about it.

FISH is turning to the community for help to ensure everyone throughout Oxford, Lake Orion, Addison and Oakland townships has the chance to enjoy a nice Thanksgiving dinner by hosting their annual Thanksgiving Food Drive now through Nov. 22.

“We really count on this (food drive). Our client numbers are up whereas our donations have been greatly decreased,” said Michelle Behm, vice president of the board of directors for FISH. “From a financial standpoint, we are really in need of donations right now. So this food drive, it’s a nice gift that fills our shelves up really nice.”

In previous years, FISH used to make up individual food bags for each client, however Behm wants the pantry to be an empowering place for those in need to get those Thanksgiving essentials.

“I want (the clients) to just come in and kind of shop for whatever they need, so this way with this food drive…they will be able to get all of the products they need to make a nice Thanksgiving dinner,” she said.

Local businesses such as Caruso Chiropractic Clinic, located at 25 N. Lapeer St. in Lake Orion, has been involved with the Thanksgiving Food Drive for many years. This year, the clinic offered a free adjustment to patients who brought in a bag of canned or non-perishable food, while offering a free exam and adjustment for new patients that did the same between Nov 4 through 9.

Drop off locations for the food drive include St. Joseph Catholic Church and Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church, both located in Lake Orion as well as FISH itself, located at 1060 S. Lapeer Rd. The Oxford School District and half of Lake Orion schools were notified regarding the food drive and have been collecting donations from students within their respective schools.

This year, volunteers from Chrysler are collecting donations from all drop off locations, while local Girl Scout troops will help stock shelves at FISH with food donations collected.

According to Behm, FISH is expecting 220 families to benefit from the generosity of the community and shelves at the pantry are “quite sparse,” so she hopes local residents will come together to help their fellow neighbors in need.

“I really want to make sure every family is afforded to have a nice Thanksgiving meal,” Behm said. “This is an important holiday. It’s important for families and traditions and I want to make sure everybody gets what they need.”