Joan Roberts, Paula Morgan, Maggie de Block and Tim McCauley
Nan Nasser
Two days before Thanksgiving, members of SaddleBrooke Community Outreach, Inc. loaded their cars with all the trimmings for a holiday meal and headed to Oracle.
Under the direction of chairmen Joan and Rich Roberts, the first stop was at the Oracle Ridge Learning Center where 10 baskets of food were quickly assembled for families whose children attend this school.
Then on to the Mountain Health and Wellness Center in Oracle to put together the remaining 20 baskets. Each family received a turkey with stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy, canned vegetables, 10 pound bags of potatoes and frozen pumpkin pies; Cool Whip and dinner rolls rounded out the meals.
Many people in our community donated nonperishable food items as well as cash contributions. The Roberts assorted the donations and then purchased what was needed. That included 30 turkeys ranging from 15 to 22 pounds! Some large families benefited from the bigger turkeys as well as additional canned goods and an extra pumpkin pie. These families are identified by school personnel, administrators at the health center and coordinated with the Tri Community Food Bank in Mammoth to ensure that all are eligible for this support.
SBCO members who assisted the Robertses in Oracle were Maggie de Block, Judy Williams, Paula Morgan and Tim McCauley. Marie Cato and Nan Nasser also helped and photographed the operation for posterity.