Food drive set to aid emergency centers

Higher food and fuel prices coupled with a declining economy are pushing a greater number of South County families over the financial line and into poverty.

Meanwhile, those same conditions are combining to make it more difficult for even the moderately wealthy to donate non-perishable foods or cash to emergency food pantry programs such as the one operated by Anderson-Cottonwood Christian Assistance, said William L. Thurman.

Thurman manages ACCA’s modest emergency food distribution and assistance screening center at 2979 East Center St. in Anderson.

“We’ve had people sit outside our office trying to hawk their jewelry just for a little bit of gas money,” Thurman said Wednesday, July 2. “We even had one client who sold his car just so he could pay his rent for three months.”

To augment emergency food supplies throughout Shasta County, the Shasta Food Group — of which ACCA is a member — will hold a one-day “United to End Hunger” nonperishable food drive from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16, at various locations.

“Anything that is collected in Cottonwood or Anderson stays in the South County,” Thurman stressed, noting that cash donations can usually be stretched through careful purchasing to yield even better results.

Peanut butter and jams are the things that are in the shortest supply,” Thurman said. “We also need a lot of fresh produce. We would especially like to make an appeal to those growers who are throwing away their excess or feeding it to livestock. We would like them to consider donating it us so they can get a tax write-off.”

Checks should be made out to “Shasta Food Group” and handed to a South County representative.

Three collection points have been designated for South County residents, Thurman said. Shasta Food Group representatives will be at the Holiday Market in Cottonwood to accept donations from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the day of the food drive.

Anderson residents have two locations to chose from – the parking lot just outside the Safeway store on Balls Ferry or the Wal-Mart SuperStore parking lot, Thurman said.

“We’ll have barriers set up with signs on them. People can just drive through and drop of their non-perishable canned and boxed foods,” he continued.

Thurman advises all donors to carefully check the food container’s expiration date as any donated items past their pull or expiration date will be thrown away.

Other donation locations can be found at the Safeway store in Redding, Sentry Market in the City of Shasta Lake,; Reed’s Market and the Shingletown Store, both in Shingletown; the Safeway Store in Burney; an Ray’s Food Place in Fall River Mills.

Nearly half of all food products donated will be consumed by children, Thurman noted.