The City of Santa Clarita recently received the results of its SCV Food Pantry’s 2009 Summer Food Drive. Through the event, sponsored by the City, nearly 2,000 pounds of food valued at more than $3,000 was collected at five city facilities, to be donated to the SCV Food Pantry. The organization helps provide food to Santa Clarita community members in need.
Conducted in September, which is Hunger Action Month, the Summer Food Drive helps to provide valuable resources at a time when community members in need are hit hardest.
“The September Food Drive couldn’t come at a better time,” said Belinda Crawford, Executive Director of the SCV Food Pantry. “Families already struggling to put food on the table are required to extend their food budget even further in summer to accommodate kids who are home from school.”
Summer months can take a toll on families in need due to the fact that children on summer vacation no longer receive free and reduced price breakfast and lunch programs available during the school year. Complicating matters further, donations both food and monetary are historically at their lowest during the summer on both a local and national scale.
“The City of Santa Clarita is dedicated to ensuring that residents enjoy a high quality of life regardless of financial situation,” said Mayor Frank Ferry. “The Summer Food Drive allows the City to partner with a vital local nonprofit organization to help ensure that Santa Clarita families and children in need do not go hungry. Through the immense generosity of community members who donated thousands of pounds of nonperishable items via collection bins, the 2009 event turned out to be a significant step toward achieving this goal.”
For the Summer Food Drive, the City placed collection bins for non-perishable food donations at five City facilities: City Hall, the City’s Sports Complex, Transit Maintenance Facility, Corporate Yard, and Central Park.
The SCV Food Pantry saw a 33 percent increase in community members seeking its services during the first six months of 2009 over the same period in 2008. Last year, the organization distributed supplemental food to more than 5,500 individuals, nearly half of whom were children.
“Our volunteers are the hands and hearts of the SCV Food Pantry,” said Crawford. “We invite others interested in helping those less fortunate in our valley to join our family of volunteers by contacting us.”
Community members interested in volunteering for the SCV Food Pantry are invited to contact Belinda Crawford at 661-255-9078 or visit scvfoodpantry.org.
For more information on the City’s partnership with the SCV Food Pantry for the Summer Food Drive, including additional ways to donate, contact Gail Ortiz, Communications Manager for the City of Santa Clarita at 661-255-4314.