A new food drive is beginning at Southtowne Rotary. The Rotary Community Food Project is being introduced in March 2018 as a way to further support Food for Lane County.
Food for Lane County is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit food bank founded in 1984 and dedicated to eliminating hunger by creating access to food. They accomplish this by soliciting, collecting, rescuing, growing, preparing and packaging food for distribution through a network of more than 150 social service agencies and programs; through public awareness, education and community advocacy; and through programs designed to improve the ability of low-income individuals to maintain an adequate supply of wholesome, nutritious food.
These programs include emergency food boxes, shelters, meal sites, rehabilitation facilities, nutrition education, gleaning and community gardens. They serve a diverse population of people living on limited incomes including children, families, seniors and single adults.
1 in 3 Lane County residents qualify for food assistance and 47% of Lane County Households struggle to meet basic needs. 53% of children qualify for free or reduced lunches.
Food for Lane County’s mission is to eliminate hunger.
Southtowne Rotary has been supporting Food for Lane County for years by volunteering at the main facility to sort and process food as well as through the Meals on Wheels program. The food drives that Rotarians and others participate in help the clients of Food for Lane County to get a little bit of variety each week.
The Rotary Community Food Projects is a pilot program and the Vet’s Club is the drop point. FFLC will pick up every other month on the 1st Thursday beginning May 3.
Each Rotarian gets an empty bag with NON PERISHABLE foods to fill over 2 months. Here are ways to make sure it gets filled:
- Do all the shopping at once
- Keep the bag in your car
- You can buy all of one thing
- Look for coupons on Amazon & buy that way
Here is a list of the ten most wanted foods from Food for Lane County’s website:
- Canned meats (tuna, chicken, salmon, corned beef)
- Low-sugar fruit, dried fruit, jams and jellies, unsweetened apple sauce
- Canned and dried beans (pinto, navy, kidney, refried)
- Canned stew, chili, hearty soups and broth
- Pasta, rice, cereal, corn meal
- Cooking oil and olive oil
- Canned tomato products (whole, paste, spaghetti sauce)
- Spices and sauces (mole, enchilada sauce, cumin, chilies)