By Kim Dodds, Human Services Coordinator, City of Lakewood
The Lakewood Community Collaboration will meet Wednesday, May 11, at Lakewood City Hall at 9:30 a.m. It was agreed at the April meeting that all would bring food donations to supports the Lakes Area FISH Food Bank in Lakewood. Collaboration partners were asked to bring cans of tuna and/or jars of peanut butter.
The Lakes Area FISH Food Bank is the largest food bank in the area. They served over 15,000 clients in the first quarter of this 2011; double the volume served in 2011; yet their numbers continue to grow. Lakes Area has seen more clients who have never needed food banks before but because of job loss or other economic crises, are now turning to them for assistance. For these new and emerging clients, having the food bank allows them to channel limited resources to other critical needs, such as housing and transportation. We all have friends, neighbors or family that have found themselves facing challenges recently, and, like others, we understand how a car that breaks down or the loss of a job or a medical emergency can cause a dramatic change in circumstances.
While the incredible generosity of the community has given Lakes the ability to meet the needs of the growing number of people they serve, they face ongoing challenges to keep their shelves full. They rely on donations, both food and financial, from churches, individuals, and businesses in Lakewood. Right now, they are asking Collaboration partners to be a contributor to the food bank. They identify some ways to help:
· Make donations of food or toiletries
· Have a min-food drive, perhaps asking employees and customers to donate peanut butter and/or tuna;
· Have a permanent box or basket to collect food – we can pick it up when it is full!
· Donate money. Every dollar we are given can be stretched to buy $7 of healthful food.
Want to learn more about hunger and why it is so important we take care to feed those around us? You can read more about the significant costs to hunger here: