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08/14/2018 04:30 PMOn Saturday, Aug. 25, Families Helping Families (FHF) will hold its annual Fall Food Drive at Stop & Shop at 215 East Main Street in Clinton from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. FHF will collect non-perishable food items and money for its five community outreach programs.
FHF President Miner Vincent said that 2018 will mark the 11th year of the Fall Food Drive.
“People attending the food drive will be given a list of needed pantry items. It’s hoped by using this list, the areas where the food pantry needs the most help will be filled. The list will also contain items that are on sale, so that hopefully people will be able to purchase even more with their dollars,” Vincent said.
The pantry distributes 3,000 pounds of food on a weekly basis, Vincent said, and the need is increasing. The pantry has increased from serving fewer than 100 families per week two years ago to serving 140 families per week now.
“With that much food going out each week, the pantry is constantly trying to keep up with the demands on its services, he said. “With this food drive, FHF hopes to be able to fill some of the pantry’s needs.”
Vincent said the goal is to collect at least 1,500 pounds of food. The fundraiser will be held the same day as the town’s SummerFest, which Vincent hopes will benefit FHF.
“With the fireworks planned for the same day, we anticipate people might be having cookouts before the event, so we are hoping there might be more people shopping than normally would be,” Vincent said.
For those choosing to help with money rather than food, Vincent said FHF has five ways to ensure the donation meets a local need.
The five FHF programs are Fresh Produce, which supplies the Food Pantry on a weekly basis with fresh fruits and vegetable; Cans for Clinton, which provides non-perishable food items to the food pantry; the Energy Assistance Program, which is run in co-operation with Clinton Social Services provides emergency heating assistance to Clinton families; the Families to Families Program, which provides immediate assistance to Clinton families undergoing an unforeseen crisis; and the Clinton Kids Initiative.
Through the Kids Initiative, FHF “tries to meet the unserved needs of Clinton children through such things as our Summer Lunch Program, our Bike Refurbishing Program through which we have given away 325 free bikes over the past three years, back to school clothing and shoes, and other venues to meet the needs of Clinton children,” Vincent said.
The Families Helping Families Fall Food Drive will be held Saturday, Aug. 25, rain or shine. For more information, call FHF at 860-669-5592 or visit fhfclinton.org.