Santa and his favorite elf brought Christmas cheer along with gifts to share.
The young and the young at heart alike got a festive surprise at Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank when Santa and his favorite elf paid a visit there on Dec. 18.
The jolly old elf came prepared with toys and treats to gift as he and his friendly elf took time from their regular duties at the food bank to bring Christmas joy to the long line-up of folks waiting to receive their food that day.
Santa’s elf has been with the food bank ever since it opened. Santa has been with the food bank for almost 10 years and is its semi driver (when he’s not busy in his toy workshop or tending to his sleigh).
“We do it every year,” said Ahndrea Blue, founder, president and CEO of Making A Difference Foundation which owns and operates Eloise’s Cooking Pot. “The resident Santa and elf have been doing this almost 10 years.”
Santa has been visiting the food bank for nearly 10 years now.
Santa and elf were originally scheduled to be at Eloise’s usual Wednesday food giveaway at the Tacoma Dome, but it had to be cancelled because the day didn’t start out merry and bright at all. That morning, the weather outside was frightful as Tacoma was being pummeled by fierce winds such that large trees were being uprooted, power was out in numerous areas across the city, and traffic intersection lights were not blinking bright red and green but had gone dark.
The rough weather caused Blue to have to make a decision. She said that when she was up at 5 a.m., the winds were gusting at more than 60 miles per hour.
“We start setting up that event at 6 a.m. and the winds had not let up,” she said. “Generally, the staff is there rain or shine, but when the wind gusts are really high, we lose tents. High winds, flying tents, moving volunteers and employees is just a recipe for disaster. Even though the weather calmed down and the sun came out, we had to make a logistics decision by 6 a.m. We didn’t think we could do it safely, so we had to pivot.”
With the safety of her volunteers, employees and giveaway attendees as the top priority, Blue and her staff made it known that the food bank on McKinley Avenue would still be open so Santa, with elf in tow, pivoted as well to that location.
In the coming new year, there will be a lot of great news to share about major projects and community resources coming to Eloise’s Cooking Pot so keep an eye out for that in 2025.