Aspen Lakes provides for food bank

Golfers are still hitting the links at Aspen Lakes Golf Course through the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. While dining facilities are closed, the greens remain open — and golfers have been helping the Sisters community as they play.

Sisters Kiwanis reported last week that Aspen Lakes Golf course ran a special food raiser for the Kiwanis Food Bank during the off season. When a golfer brought in three cans of food or three non-perishable items, they could play 18 holes of golf for $25 (a 50 percent discount on regular green fees).

“Because of this, they donated 5,089 pounds of food,” said Doug Wills, one of the Food Bank’s directors.”You can see just a couple days worth in the pictures.

The Food Bank has continued to serve the community through the pandemic, with a modified every-other-Thursday schedule to mitigate exposure risk for volunteers.

Wills noted that the donated food goes a long way toward stretching the budget for the pantry.

“We pay an average of $2 to $3 per pound for our food,” Wills said. “The 5,089 pounds they donated saved us between $10,000 and $15,000. That is huge for us. Plus, all the food we distribute goes to folks in need that reside in the Sisters School District, so it stays local. If you look at what Aspen Lakes did with giving each golfer $25 off their green fees, they also donated several thousand dollars to the food bank.”