Working near pallets piled high with potatoes, a Napa Valley Adult School class lent a hand to needy local families Tuesday morning at Napa Valley Food Bank.

Putting their organizational skills to work, the students transformed a sea of canned goods, cereals and packages of trail mix into care packages for the organization’s Senior Brown Bag Program.

A second group took on mounds of recently donated goods, quickly sorting them by food type into massive bins.

Napa Valley Adult School teacher Barbara Stone, who worked alongside her students Tuesday, said the group effort represents a time-tested part of her curriculum. Volunteerism, she said, yields valuable lessons that can’t be taught inside the classroom.

“I think it’s important for students to realize that anyone can do this. ... Anyone can volunteer at any age,” she said. “Everyone gets something out of it, not just the people who are volunteering.”

The effort comes at a time when the Napa Valley Food Bank is facing unprecedented challenges, according to Shirley King, the organization’s program director. King said the Food Bank is short between 400 and 600 turkeys of the 1,500 total needed before Christmas to provide Napa County’s disadvantaged families with traditional holiday meals.

In the meantime, the number of families served by the agency is growing. Last year, nearly 12,000 people received services from the Food Bank, but through just August of this year, that number is already close to 14,000, King said.

“This is the first time that we’re over budget because we’re spending so much money on food and fuel,” she said, adding that in these tough economic times, longtime donors are giving less than in previous years.

Among the 15 Napa Valley Adult School students donating their time for the cause Tuesday morning was Brandon McNeil, 19.

“Not very many people have the things that I do. ... Some people just can’t make it and need a little bit of assistance,” he said.

Nearby, McNeil’s classmate, Alyssa Gaitan, checked the contents of scores of grocery bags destined to be delivered today to low income seniors in Napa County.

Jason Young, 19, said his class’ trek to the Food Bank might be the start of his own long-term volunteer efforts there.

“They don’t have enough volunteers to help them. And the more volunteers they can get, the more people can get food,” he said, adding that in the past, he enjoyed volunteering as a police explorer at Southern California’s Tehachapi Police Department.

King said although the Food Bank still needs volunteer drivers, generally the organization is more in need of monetary donations and food items of all kinds, including turkeys, canned goods, produce, cheese and other perishable items. “Volunteerism is not down,” she said. “People are finding that it’s more realistic to donate time rather than money because of the economy.”

Like most Americans, she said, the Food Bank is also feeling the pinch of skyrocketing food prices.

“When I started here (nine years ago), a 50-pound bag of rice was $8.14,” she said, quoting a more recent price for the same item at $31.60.

The Napa Valley Food Bank is a hub for several area nutrition programs for low income Napa County residents, including the Senior Brown Bag Program, USDA Food Distribution, Emergency Food Pantry, Friday Free Market, Meals on Wheels and other programs for disabled and senior residents.

Donations wanted

The Napa Valley Food Bank is accepting holiday donations of whole turkeys, canned foods, dry goods and produce to feed needy families. To learn how to help, call 253-6128.