The latest local news, weather and high school sports in and around Columbia and Jefferson City

Thanksgiving was nearly canceled at a Southwest Missouri food pantry.

Volunteers at the Benton County Food Pantry in Warsaw had some engine problems with their delivery truck.

That left most of the pantry’s shelves empty as we approach next Thursday’s holiday.

Columbia’s Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri supplies the Benton County Food Pantry.

Food bank officials said Warsaw volunteers found a temporary vehicle to get them through the holiday season.

Deliveries from Columbia’s food bank to the Benton County Food Pantry remain on schedule.  Pantry volunteers will pick up food in Columbia as usual with a temporary truck.  Even if a back-up truck was unavailable, Food Bank officials say they have ways of getting food to pantries with vehicle trouble.

Food Bank spokesperson Rachel Ellerseick said, “The Food Bank is always here to help with their transportation needs.  We’ll get the food to them any way we can.”

Food Bank officials said Thanksgiving deliveries are not a problem this year.  Volunteers at the Benton County Food Pantry still need a permanent fix.

Ellerseick said, “I believe it is a temporary solution.  They are probably looking for something more long term to fix their transportation problem.”

The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri has a fleet of a dozen delivery trucks, including semi-trucks that pick up large amounts of food.

The Benton County Food Pantry serves more than a thousand needy families every month.  These families will have Thanksgiving dinner on the table after pantry volunteers arrive in Columbia on Friday for their normal shipment of food.

Officials at the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri want to collect food and funds for more than 15-million meals by the end of the year as part of this year’s “Food for the Holidays” program.