Annual Holiday Food Drive to get under way Thursday

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — The Jewish Community Relations Council’s 18th annual High Holiday Food Drive to benefit Second Harvest Foodbank of the Mahoning Valley and the Community Food Warehouse of the Shenango Valley will take place Thursday through Oct. 12.

Members of the Jewish Community have been asked to donate items to the food banks by bringing nonperishable foods and toiletry items to area synagogues, the Akiva Academy or the Jewish Community Center.

To aid in the collections, area grocery stores donated brown paper bags, which will be available at the listed sites. A detailed listing of needed items is included in the bags.

Second Harvest Foodbank is a private charity serving as a redistribution center for donated food and related items to more than 100 pantries, meal sites and institutions in the tri-county area. The Community Food Warehouse was founded in 1983 by the Sharon Clergy Association, a group of local pastors who were concerned about hunger in Mercer County. Its goal is to acquire food products from local grocery and food manufacturers in sufficient volume to help meet the need for emergency food in the community. For every dollar donated to the warehouse, $15 in food reaches the hungry through 31 member agencies.

For more information, contact Bonnie Deutsch Burdman at the JCRC at (330) 746-3251 or (330) 770-8702.