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FISH Food Bank looking for warehouse space for this year’s Christmas toy drive

The annual Christmas toy drive staged by Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH Food Bank needs a new home. 

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And while the holiday season may be a couple months off, sooner would be better for Betsy Cheney and others trying to organize the toy drive that will provide Christmas gifts to some 1,000 local kids this winter. 

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Last year, the former Peninsula Gardens building served as the staging area and distribution center for the drive. But PenMet Parks just finished demolishing that building ahead of a planned redevelopment that could start next year.

Previous homes — like a warehouse on Soundview Drive near the Olympic Village shopping center and Latitude 47 — are now unavailable. Despite trying to find donated space all year, FISH has so far come up empty.

Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH volunteer Betsy Cheney during the 2022 toy drive, held at a warehouse on Soundview Drive.

Cheney, who has led the toy drive for more than two decades, said the food bank needs a minimum of 4,000 square feet with ample parking. The drive would use the space between Dec. 1 and Dec. 20, a compressed timeline compared to previous years.

Organizers hope that only asking for the space for three weeks will make their request more palatable. In previous years, the food bank used a warehouse space for four to six weeks for the toy drive.

Volunteers will spend the first half of December organizing and displaying donated toys at the space leading up to the distribution days, Dec. 16 through 18. That’s why a sizable parking lot is necessary: Families browse through donated toys to select specific gifts for their children.

No frills

Amenities would be nice, but with a deadline looming Cheney said the food bank is ready to use any donated space that’s large enough to accommodate their needs.

“Just to get a place, we’ll take the walls, if that’s all we can get,” she said. “But if there’s a bathroom and there’s heat that’s just glorious.” 

FISH toy collection bins for the drive will be in area businesses starting Nov. 17. Gig Harbor Lions Club bins go out Nov. 12.

Anyone able to donate a space, or whose business wants to host a donation bin, can contact Cindy Bohorfoush at [email protected]. 

Volunteers get their orders during the 2024 Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH Toy Drive. Photo by Kathy Cummings