Volunteers Preparing for Annual Food Drive
OSM/VISTA Kelly Cossey collected nearly 20 bags of non-perishable food for the Armstrong County Community Action food bank at the Franklin Village Shop `n Save during the 2013 food drive. (KP File Photo)
by Jonathan Weaver
The recent winter push won’t stop a group of local volunteers that serve with the Armstrong Conservation District and other non-profits from preparing for an annual event.
Rather than sleeping in or catching up on other things, volunteers have annually spent ‘Martin Luther King, Jr. Day’ by collecting food at local supermarkets.
Holiday shoppers next week will see volunteers coordinate the ninth-annual ‘MLK Day of Service Food Drive’ at Shop `n Save in Kittanning (East Franklin Township’s Franklin Village Shopping Center) and at Giant Eagle in Indiana.
All non-perishable food items or monetary donations collected from 8AM-2PM Monday will benefit the Armstrong and Indiana County food banks, according to organizer Sara Beatty.
The holiday is a “day on, not a day off” for many volunteers across the country – who chose to honor the civil rights activist by giving their time to serve their respective communities – and an AmeriCorps member from the Armstrong Conservation District and Crooked Creek Watershed Association, an AmeriCorps member from Evergreen Conservancy and Crooked Creek Watershed and volunteers from Crooked Creek Environmental Learning Center will faithfully participate this year as well.
Last year, a total of about 30 volunteers – 20 at the Indiana Giant Eagle and 11 inside the Kittanning Shop `n Save – gathered about 170 food items and more than $250 for local food banks.
Volunteers often note that residents often choose to donate while they are in the store.
The service project will be one of hundreds held nationwide to honor the legacy of Dr. King. In 1994, Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act, directing the King Center and the Corporation for National and Community Service to carry out a day of service reflecting Dr. King’s life and teachings.
Interested donors or volunteers can contact Beatty for more information at sgbeatty92@gmail.com
Crooked Creek Watershed Association, established in 1981, is an all-volunteer, nonprofit, grassroots organization working to improve the water quality in Crooked Creek and its tributaries, preserve and enhance natural resources and habitats, and increase public awareness and education.
Local News | jweaver January 14, 2016
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