Whaling Days 21+ Club donates $1,060 to CK Food Bank.

Beer drinkers opened up their hearts and wallets to a local organization during Whaling Days weekend.

“When they buy, they always give extra,” Vicky Webb said.

Webb, the Whaling Days 21+ Club chair, and Whaling Days President-elect Carla Larson gave Central Kitsap Food Bank Executive Director Hoyt Burrows a check for $1,060 last week.

Webb and a crew of about 40 volunteers served up drinks in the beer garden at Whaling Days, earning tips and donating them to the food bank.

“We recruit our friends and neighbors and almost everyone comes back every year,” Webb said of the volunteers.

She said this year’s check was a little smaller than years past, but the 21+ Club is happy considering the economy.

“It really makes you feel good that people are so generous and kind,” she said.

Burrows said the CK Food Bank has seen a 25 percent increase in requests for assistance this time of year when compared to last year’s figures and the money from the 21+ Club will buy about 8,000 pounds of food to stock the food bank’s shelves.

“(The 21+ Club) is just one of our community partners and it’s one of our community partners that allows us to keep doing what we’re doing,” Burrows said. “This community is fantastic.”

The 21+ Club started more than 20 years ago as a wine garden and slowly evolved into a beer garden. Volunteers have donated tips to various organizations, but they have stuck with the CK Food Bank for many years.

“We’ve been with the food bank quite a long time and there’s no better place to put your money than people who need help,” Webb said.

People may mail monetary donations to the CK Food Bank, P.O. Box 748 Silverdale, WA 98383 or drop off items at the facility, located at 3790 Anderson Hill Road next to Central Kitsap High School. For more information, call the food bank at (360) 692-9818.