MOSES LAKE — Don’t look now, but it’s about three weeks to Thanksgiving. And the thing is, not everybody will have the wherewithal to buy that turkey dinner and everything that goes with it. Employees of local health care organizations are will be working to fix that, with the help of area residents.

Employees from Samaritan Healthcare, Confluence Health-Moses Lake Clinic and Moses Lake Community Health will be conducting a Turkey Drive (the 18th annual, in fact) Nov. 15 through 17. Volunteers will be soliciting donations at Safeway in Moses Lake from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 15 and 16, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 17. Donations go to the Moses Lake Food Bank, and checks should be made payable to the food bank.

Volunteers will be taking donations of frozen turkeys, as well as cans, boxes or bags of food. The last couple of years the donation crew has had handy-dandy vouchers for people who don’t want to pack around cans or boxes. And if people want to donate money – well, the food bank crew is good at making maximum use of every dollar. The Thanksgiving food distribution traditionally takes place during Thanksgiving week, with a big crew of volunteers working to keep the line moving.

And the food bank will need donations before and after the holiday season, said food bank director Peny Archer in an earlier interview, because the need for food is year-round. With the days getting shorter and colder, food bank organizers are looking for hearty winter-friendly foods, things like canned stew and soup, Archer said.