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Hundreds of people lined up outside the Milpitas Food Pantry Monday for the annual Thanksgiving food distribution. By the time the pantry began distributing food at 5 p.m., the line extended past the parking lot and spilled onto South Main Street.
Milpitas Food Pantry Director Susan Lang said the applications for food distribution this year have surpassed any of her five years as director.
"We usually have around 300 people who submit applications. This year, we have enrolled 400 people, and there were about 50 people who wanted to sign up after I stopped taking applications. I had to tell them that if there are leftovers the next day, they can come back," Lang said. "This was the first year that I've had to turn people away, but we got some more donations, so I think we will have some leftovers."
Lang said despite the difficult economic times, donations from the Milpitas community have helped the pantry keep up with demand.
"Milpitas is great. We're up to 430 turkeys, and we've had more than 200 turkeys donated individually by people just dropping in," Lang said.
Milpitas resident Jose Alvarado was the first person in line and had been in place since 1:30 p.m. He said he received aid from the food pantry in the past, but that their assistance was of special significance this year.
"It is even more important to have help like this, because this economy is hell for everybody," Alvarado said. "I haven't been able to find work for over two weeks. This will
More than 60 volunteers were hustling to get the food sorted and organized for distribution. Volunteers included Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves, Milpitas Unified School District Superintendent Karl Black, and dozens of representatives from the Milpitas Rotary Club and local churches.
Don Peoples, past president of the Rotary club, said, "Every year the demand gets bigger, and it breaks your heart. But you can see that the food is put to very good use, the people really appreciate it, and it makes a big impact for them."
