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Organizations sought to run food and funds drives
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Paige Tomlinson Miller, volunteer coordinator and office manager at Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley, is shown with information packets for volunteers during the kickoff Wednesday of the food bank’s annual Harvest for Hunger spring food drive.
YOUNGSTOWN
Ridley Clark, Emily Caguiat and Taylor Reynolds, 11- and 12-year-old girls from Montessori School of Mahoning Valley, ran a food drive at their school that garnered 140-150 items for the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley’s Harvest for Hunger.
The 24th annual Harvest for Hunger campaign, which kicked off Wednesday, is a food and funds drive that takes place in March and April to help stock the food bank’s shelves for the spring and summer months when donations taper off.
Financial contributions also can be made at supermarket sponsor Giant Eagle by tearing off a $1, $5, or $10 coupon at the register Sunday to April 11, and at participating Sparkle Markets and Walgreens locations March 1 to April 11. Donations are added to the customer’s bill.
For any customer who fills a Harvest for Hunger donation bag with nonperishable food items, The Carpetsmith in the Poland/Struthers area will clean a carpet in one room for free when the customer buys a two-room special through the end of April.
“It’s our way of raising awareness and giving back to the community,” said E.J. Skoloda, owner.
FirstEnergy, a major contributor to the Harvest for Hunger, runs numerous employee-driven events to raise awareness, food and money for the campaign, said David H. Turner, area manager for the company.
Blue Sky Therapy, headquartered in Canfield, runs a “Biggest Loser” and food-drive competitions among its more than 50 therapy teams. For every pound of weight lost and pound of food collected, it donates $1 to the food bank at 2805 Salt Springs Road on the city’s West Side.
Columbiana Mayor Bryan Blakeman said his city has placed drop-off containers for a food drive, and issued a friendly challenge to other elected officials to do the same.
These are examples of ways companies, schools, churches, organizations, groups of friends and even governmental units come together as a community to collect food and raise money to help feed the hungry in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties, said Michael Iberis, food-bank director.
In 2014, Harvest for Hunger raised $175,849 and collected nearly 60,000 pounds of food, which translated to some 1 million meals for Mahoning Valley residents, said Iberis, who thanked all the volunteers and sponsors for their support.
People interested in participating in the Harvest for Hunger campaign by conducting food and/or fund drives can contact Paige Tomlinson-Miller at 330-792-5522, ext. 11, or visit www.mahoningvalleysecondharvest.org to download a registration form.