A New York food bank got a huge donation of fresh fish. But it came with a catch.

LocalCoho is a salmon farm in Auburn, New York. It is going to close. Instead of wasting the fish, the farmers wanted to donate it. They had an extra 40,000 pounds of coho salmon on their hands. That’s enough to feed thousands of families. 

But before cooks could plate the salmon, the fish had to be caught. They were still swimming in the farm’s giant indoor tanks! The farm closes Friday. So the fish catching had to happen fast.

Dozens of food bank volunteers stepped up. They helped staffers scoop up the salmon. Workers waded through knee-deep water. They filled their nets. 

The team emptied the tanks in a matter of weeks. 

Christina Hudson Kohler was among the volunteers. She wore waterproof overalls and gloves to grab the fish-laden nets. She emptied the fish into cold storage containers.

“It’s a little bit different,” Ms. Kohler said during a break. “In the past, my volunteer work with the food bank has been sorting carrots or peppers, or gleaning out in the field.”

Salmon is an expensive food. It’s delicious. And it’s packed with important nutrients. The food bank catch should yield more than 26,000 servings for the hungry. 

Brian McManus is in charge of the Food Bank of Central New York. He thinks the salmon will go fast. “We’ve had salmon before,” he says. “But not like this.”

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have. — Hebrews 13:16