PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles firefighters, volunteers and family collected 13,159 pounds of food during the annual Operation Candy Cane last week.

It was a record amount of food for the annual campaign. Last year, firefighters collected more than 11,000 pounds of food.

“I think that when people know that times are bad, they really work hard to give extra if they can,” said Keith Bogues, Port Angeles Fire Department training officer.

Firefighters dressed up a 1953 Seagrave pumper truck with holiday lights and cruised neighborhoods from Dec. 5 through 10, handing out candy canes and collecting nonperishable food and cash donations.

“This has become something of a holiday tradition,” Bogues said.

The project, begun in 1986, has gathered more than 212,000 pounds of food through the years.

This year, the group collected $2,129.21 in cash — a total that could increase, since donations are still being accepted, Bogues said.

Since 1986, Operation Candy Cane has raised $42,482.14, he added.

Food donated on three of the six days of the campaign was given to the Port Angeles Food Bank, while food donations on the other three days went to the Salvation Army’s food bank, Bogues said.

The cash also goes to food banks, with the amount divided equally between the two.

Last year’s total of $3,396 was padded by a large, after-the-fact donation, Bogues said.

Cash into food

Bogues said he is glad for all the donations, but that the cash donations in particular make him proud because the food banks can leverage the money into more food.

“They can get food at much cheaper rates, so the cash donations really helps to replenish the stocks,” he said.

“Usually, I’ve heard that it is about March that they have to start buying food because the donated food is gone.”

“We have a group of about 10 or 12 who work really, really hard on this every year,” he said.

“We’ve invested about 310 volunteer hours into this — not including all of the planning time leading up to it.”

This year, the firefighters added something extra to the holiday decorations on the truck. A string of blue lights on the back of the firetruck honored the four Lakewood police officers — Sgt. Mark Renninger and Officers Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold and Greg Richards — who were killed Nov. 29 in a coffee shop southwest of Tacoma.

To donate to Operation Candy Cane or for more information, phone 360-417-4655 or visit the fire station at 102 E. Fifth St., Port Angeles.

__________

Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.