Holidays at Seaside Aquarium: Feed the Seals, Feed N. Oregon Coast Families

Published 11/15/2019 at 12:25 PM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Seaside, Oregon) – Over 80 years as an Oregon coast landmark, and thirty of those helping to feed local families in need – that’s what the Seaside Aquarium has been up to for decades.

Once again, the Seaside Aquarium will soon kick off the holiday season with the “Feed the Seals, Feed the Community” annual food drive. This has been going on for 30 years, with the aquarium working with the South County Community Food Bank to provide nutritious food to families throughout Seaside, Gearhart and Cannon Beach that face food insecurity.

Those visiting the north Oregon coast from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day have yet another reason to feed the seals: patrons can pay admission to the Seaside Aquarium with two cans of food per person. Instead of money - it’s food items. These are collected at the Aquarium then sorted, checked and stocked on the shelves of the Seaside based food bank for clients in Southern Clatsop County.

According to Darren Gooch, Board President of the South County Community Food Bank the “Feed the Seals, Feed the Community” along with other local food drives are critical in sustaining the families, children and seniors that do not have regular access to nutritious food.

“Food Drives like this also add a certain amount of variety to the types of food we offer and this variety is important both from the standpoint of nutrition, but also for those who may have dietary restrictions,” explains Gooch. While it is difficult to source specialty foods such as gluten-free through the regional food bank Gooch commented, “Food obtained through food drives and anonymous donations often contain these types of products, so we are increasingly able to meet more of the specific dietary needs of our clients.”

Over the past three decades the South County Community Food Bank has grown into one of the largest food distributors in the regional Oregon Food Bank network. Volunteers assist in serving 250,000 lbs of food to over 12,000 South County individuals annually. Without such incredible community support and local food drives, the food bank would not be able to afford to continue to provide the amount of food to each family that comes through the door.

Public hours for the north Oregon coast facility are Tuesdays and Thursdays 1 pm – 4 pm. The food bank is at 2041 North Roosevelt Drive, on the East side of Highway 101 across from the Seaside High School. Shelf-stable food, fresh produce, dairy, frozen food, refrigerated food, and bulk dry food products are boxed in a three to five day supply and offered to clients.

Feeding the seals has been a staple of fun for visitors to Seaside for generations. While the two cans of food gain you entry, it is still $2 for the container of fish to throw at the seals. This is a serious kick in the pants, with the seals doing amusing tricks to get your attention for the treats. Aquarium hours are 9 am – 5 pm every day. Seaside Aquarium is on the Prom in Seaside Oregon. For more information, call the helpful Aquarium Staff at 5030-738-6211. Hotels in Seaside - Where to eat - Seaside Maps and Virtual Tours

More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

 

LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net
All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted

Oregon Coast Lodging
Rentals
Specials

Dining

Events Calendar

Oregon Coast Weather

Travel News

Search for Oregon Coast Subjects, Articles

Virtual Tours, Maps
Deep Details