Published: November 13, 2007 10:26 am            

Remember to give to Student Food Drive

Have you donated to the local Student Food Drive being conducted by Clinton and Lincoln high school students? If not, there is still time.

Donations are being accepted through Wednesday in the offices of both schools.

Council members at Clinton High School and Lincoln High School are working in conjunction with the Student Food Drive to collect canned goods and monetary donations to support local food pantries.

The food raised not only comes back to Clinton, but is spread throughout the bi-state area. The Student Food Drive, previously known as the Student Hunger Drive, was created in 1986 by Pete Pohlman, President of Lujack’s Northpark Auto Plaza, in Davenport. In 1993, a nonprofit organization was formed to support the drive and encourage ongoing success.

Conducted by Quad City area high school students, the purpose of the Student Food Drive is to help those in need, as well as promote volunteerism and community involvement among the students, and give them the opportunity to develop “real-life” organizational skills.

The students, with the help of a faculty advisor, plan school events and contests to promote the food drive, organize the food collection, and package and deliver the food to the River Bend Foodbank in Moline, Ill.

The foodbank services more than 300 area food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters in 22 counties in Iowa and Illinois.

Food collected during the Student Food Drive will be channeled into the foodbank’s distribution in Clinton, Scott, Muscatine, Henry and Rock Island counties. Each agency receiving food contributes $0.14 per pound to the foodbank to help cover the cost of storage, refrigeration and distribution.

The Associate Benevolent Society in Clinton is one of the food pantries that receives items collected during the Student Food Drive. The agency, which has served the Clinton community for 122 years, provided 421 local families with food last year.

Organizers ask for nonperishable food items, particularly canned fruits and vegetables, and “meals in a can,” such as beef stew and pork & beans.

Monetary donations are also accepted, and all proceeds are used to purchase food.

If you haven’t had a chance to give to this worthy cause, make it a point to do so. You’ll be helping local families and truly giving a precious gift as we enter the holiday season.

        

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