Food Finders, a local nonprofit food rescue organization will launch its fifth annual “Summer to End Hunger” Food Drive on Friday, May 1. According to the release, only 19 percent of the one million children eligible for the Federally funded breakfast and lunch programs participate in a summer meal program. Many of these children find themselves without a stable food source after school gets out.
“Summer is a rough time for many of these families. These children are at a much higher risk of food insecurity.” said Patti Larson, Executive Director of Food Finders, in a statement. “In 2014 our summer food drive collected 25,000 pounds of food, providing 21,000 meals.”
Food Finders is now in need of businesses, clubs, organizations and people committed to ending hunger, locally and county-wide and is willing to provide drop off collection bins and signage in support of the food finding initiative. Food will also be accepted at the Signal Hill office, located at 2301 E. 28th St. Suite 303. Volunteers are also needed during the summer to sort and box donated food.
The collected food will be donated to Boys and Girls clubs, youth centers, shelters and pantries that primarily serve families and children. The food drive will come to an end August 31, 2015.
“We have a list of specific items that we are collecting, which is available on our website, or we can email or fax it to anyone who requests it,” Larson also shared.
Canned items such as low sodium vegetables, soups, tomatoes and pasta sauce can be donated, along with packaged items such as fruit snacks, whole grain pasta and nuts or trail mix. For the full list of needed items, which also include hygiene and school supplies, click here.
Anyone interested in donating is asked to contact Diana Lara by calling (562) 283-1400 x101 or emailing [email protected].
Photos courtesy of Food Finders.
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