Holiday season means more donations needed at Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina

It's that time of year.

"We're stocking up on a lot of stuff for the holidays like macaroni and cheese and stuffing," said Bill Garrett.

Garrett is a cook for Love Wins, a day shelter for the homeless looking for a place to warm up and eat. They rely on the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

"They got what we need. Peanut butter, jelly, bread, produce," Garrett said.

But the Food Bank relies on donations from the community, especially this time of year.

"So you can see this time of year we get stocked up with things like pumpkin pie filling. Again, the kind of thing that you're making for your own family, we want to make sure are available for the families struggling a little bit," said Jessica Whichard, Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

And that's exactly what the food bank needs - the same food you'll enjoy this year that is sometimes a little more expensive.

"We like to get the things that are little healthier like low sodium vegetables, whole-grain pasta. Things that can really come together to make a meal," Whichard said.

If you'd like to give back this holiday season, the official kick-off of the ABC11 Together Food Drive is Saturday at the ABC11 leithcars.com Raleigh Christmas Parade. Or you can learn other ways to donate here.