The day before Thanksgiving, hundreds of cars arrived at the Lewis County mall, forming a line that snaked around itself and eventually spilled onto NE Kresky Avenue. Drivers were waiting for their “choose local first Black Friday bags,” a Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce event that this year partnered with Lund Trucking and God’s Portion to simultaneously give out free boxes of fresh food.
“We did not expect this turnout,” Chamber Executive Director Alicia Bull said, standing under a pop-up tent and giving directions to volunteers. “But it makes a lot of sense. We have a community in need right now, and it’s the night before a holiday.”
The Chamber partnered with Lund Trucking and God’s Portion after reading about their farm-to-table food dispersal last Friday in The Chronicle.
“They read it in the paper, they got ahold of Lund Trucking, and then they got ahold of us,” said Richard Norton, who works with Centralia food bank God’s Portion. Lund Trucking and God’s Portion regularly partner to disperse food donated by farms across the region.
According to Norton, God’s Portion had already given away nearly 20,000 pounds of frozen food earlier that day, and there was another 30,000 pounds of fresh farm-to-table food in the semi-truck parked behind him, ready to be given out — “it was a long day,” he said with a smile.
As Norton and volunteers worked to lift hefty boxes of food into folks’ cars, the Chamber worked diligently to pass out their 250 bags stuffed with coupons, sale information, and freebies from local businesses in an attempt to encourage residents to shop local on black Friday.
“Right now it’s really easy for us to jump online and do our shopping there, not really realizing that when the whole community is thinking that way rather than staying with our local businesses, we’re kind of robbing our community of the tax dollars we’ve had in the past,” Bull said. “And we don’t want to do damage to our community.”
This year, keeping dollars local is especially important given the impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on local businesses. With sweeping new restrictions announced earlier this month, businesses have had to adapt, some restricting their hours or shifting online. For many, Bull noted, the hard part is getting the word out to customers that they can still support their favorite local shops through things like online shopping, cub-side pickup, or gift cards. And it’s not just businesses that are feeling the impact of the pandemic, Bull noted.
“That’s the other side of this,” she said. “We’re not just talking about struggling businesses. We’re talking about a struggling community that has a higher rate than usual of unemployment, so we want to make sure the two marry up. We want to make sure our community gets a good deal … but then making sure the retailer is able to make a profit as well”
The Black Friday bags are usually a hit with the community. This year proved to be no different, as people started lining up for the 5 p.m. event hours ahead of time. Along with the bags, the Chamber also worked to hand out prizes donated by local businesses — gift cards to Fullers Shop’n Kart, kids’ bikes and scooters, Pendleton blankets, headphones and even a TV.
The chamber tried to bulk up their pot of prizes this year, Bull said, knowing that so many folks are struggling during the pandemic and may have a hard time buying holiday gifts. It took just 40 minutes to hand out the 250 bags, according to the Chamber’s facebook page.
“I wish we had thousands of more bags to hand out,” Bull said as cars continued to pull through. “When we get to the last bag I’m going to have a hard time, because I just want to keep handing things out. Because people need cheer, people need hope.”
