The Tombstone Community Food Bank continues to distribute holiday food boxes despite the lack in donations in the greater Tucson area.

In late November, before Thanksgiving, CEO of the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona Bill Carnegie, announced in a press release that they would not be giving out holiday food boxes this year, which typically consists of items such as ham, fruit, pie, and bread. He attributed cancellations to the high demand for food, an increase of 8,000 recipients since last year.

But despite the woes of their neighbors to the north, the Tombstone Community Food Bank has still been able to distribute food abundantly for locals in need, thanks to generous donors.

Dawn Fehrenbacher, director of the food bank, said they actually went “overboard” for Thanksgiving and distributed boxes that contained a 10-pound ham, stuffing, potatoes, green beans, onions, a pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and cream of mushroom soup.

“Because of the holidays I’ve gotten very generous monetary donations,” said Fehrenbacher.

This year she plans to distribute about 80 boxes and has had to only purchase two main items, turkey and pie, and the rest of the box will be supplemented by food item donations from the community.

This year, for holiday boxes, the food bank averages about $19 per box, in comparison to Tucson’s average of $15 in the past. The food bank will be giving out their Christmas boxes on Dec. 23, which will be similar to the Thanksgiving box without the large ham or pie.

While they are able to still continue supplying food for the holidays, the Tombstone Community Food Bank is facing the same issues as the rest of southern Arizona though. According to Fehrenbacher the number of people coming to the food bank has tripled since August, averaging about 30 people each distribution day.

“Some of our patrons are on the SNAP program [previously referred to as food stamps] and some are not. Some just need a little boost to make it through the end of the month,” she said.

Earlier this year the food bank received a grant from the Tucson Community Food Bank, which pays for Fehrenbacher’s salary and operational costs needed to run the facility. Although this aid is a relief for the food bank, which was suffering before Tucson provided aid, they still rely on donations from the community to operate.

Fehrenbacher said she hopes the community’s generosity doesn’t diminish after Christmas is over, noting that people tend to be more giving during the holidays.

“We will welcome any donations,” she said. “It’s a critical time right now.”