Whatcom 7 Firefighters, Ferndale Police and Santa spent the last 2 Saturday evenings driving through Ferndale neighborhoods collecting donations from the community for the Ferndale Food Bank. The 2 prior Fridays were also spent accepting donations while hosting open houses with Santa at Whatcom County Fire District 7 firehouses.
This was the 3rd year of the Santa food drive and the first with Ferndale Police Department involvement. Organizers were able to add more neighborhoods to the routes this year with the Police Department’s assistance.
But, according to organizers, they were unable to get to all the neighborhoods after being overwhelmed with donations. They say to expect some changes in the event’s format next year in order to provide better coverage into more neighborhoods.
Last year, over 5,000 pounds (2.5 tons) was collected. This year’s effort resulted in collecting 6,631 pounds of food donated by the community.
The donations were delivered to the Ferndale Food Bank this morning.
How much work did Santa do during all this? An organizer said Santa handed out over 1,500 candy canes.