Have you ever had to wait in line for food? Maybe it was at the grocery store before they called for a second check stand to open, or maybe it was in the midnight rush at Taco Bell. Either way you fully expected to leave with the food you came for.

That's not exactly how it works at the food bank. Instead of feeling frustrated by the long lines, those in line are just thankful to be leaving with groceries, whether it satisfies their cravings or not.

The lines wrapping around the Volunteers of America (VOA) Food Bank at 12th and Broadway have been longer than usual lately. Many in the line have never stepped foot inside a food bank before.

The VOA is experiencing a greater need than ever before. This month 4,843 families (14,800 people) have asked for holiday food from the Everett Food Bank. Kathleen Dale, outreach manager with the VOA, said there is a 35 percent increase in clients served but that donations have decreased by 67 percent.

According to various estimates, thousands of jobs have been lost in Snohomish County in the past year. In the construction field alone, jobs are down by 4,200 and dropping according to Regional Labor Economist Donna Thompson's October 2008 report.

For one family, Myra Stewart, William Brown and their three children, 11, five, and one and one-half, the economic downturn was all too real. William lost his job at Group Health. They were looking for a place to sleep. They wanted to shield the kids from the reality that they were homeless.

"My kids are my motivation, they didn't ask to be brought into this," said Stewart. So she and Brown decided to not let the kids know they didn't have anywhere to go; instead she told them they were going camping. They would take some blankets and a game from a friend's house and make it an adventure for the kids in a local park. When it was time to go to sleep, they would take turns snuggling with the kids, while the other kept watch.

Stewart applied for TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and began volunteering at the VOA food bank as part of a work source program along with going to school to get her GED. Stewart says this has been a good thing for both her and her 11-year-old daughter because not only do they study together, but they also volunteer together at the food bank. This is where they met their "angel," Catherine Clausen.

Clausen retired from Snohomish County after 30 years and started volunteering at the food bank about a year ago. She kept hearing people talk about a remarkable volunteer named Myra Stewart and was looking forward to meeting her.

Clausen bumped into Stewart and her daughter one day and was instantly impressed with how polite they were and with how Stewart kept calling her ma'am.

"You just don't hear that these days," said Clausen. Clausen adopted the family for the holidays as part of the VOA Holiday Basket Bureau Project. It began with a home cooked meal and blossomed from there. The family spent Thanksgiving at Clausen's house and is making plans for Christmas.

Things are really beginning to look up; the family has a hotel room to stay in until they get an apartment, which should be in early December. The holiday basket project is one of the reasons things are looking up, without it; Clausen may have never had the chance to help in such a meaningful way.

There is a greater need in our community than ever before.

According to Dale, a VOA outreach manager, people tend to want to help the little children during the holidays but often the elderly and disabled are left out. With the basket project, you can adopt a senior, disabled adult or an entire family like Catherine Clausen.

The project easily adapts to what you feel you can do. For example, a group or an individual can adopt a senior and provide just a Christmas meal, or include extra groceries and gifts too. What you choose to give and whom you choose to sponsor is up to you, you can also decide to deliver the basket in person, or drop it off at the food bank.