The Allegheny Gateway’s Civic Engagement Office and other volunteers from the College will be engaging in a socially distant Front Door Food Drive on Thursday, December 10, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
All food donors have to do is sign up by Tuesday, December 8, for pick-up on their porches or elsewhere that’s visible outside of the home. Click here for the sign-up link. The food pickup is limited to the Meadville area. On Thursday, an Allegheny volunteer will pick up your items and take care of distributing them to the proper agency.
Allegheny’s softball team volunteered at a food drive in 2018. (File photo)
“The main goal, and how it all came about, is really to respond to the needs we have heard in our community,” said Olivia Lang, associate director of Civic Engagement and the Bonner Program director. “We would usually participate in some events that would support agencies helping individuals with food insecurity in our community. Yet, because of COVID-19, those just were not possible this year. So we felt as a staff that we needed to come up with something that could be done safely to meet the needs we heard about from our community partners. It did not take long for us to come up with the Front Door Food Drive. We want everyone to stay safe and physically distant as numbers are rising in our community, but we wanted to provide relief to our community partners.”
All proceeds will go to the Meadville Soup Kitchen, Center for Family Services, CHAPS, and United Faith Fellowship Food Bank. Items that have been requested include: Bisquick mix, large cans of coffee, peanut butter, pasta and pasta sauce, canned meat, cereal, protein bars, fruit cups, canned goods, cleaning supplies and toiletries.
Bethany Ozorak, Davies & Fahrner assistant director for community-based projects, said donors are welcome. “Anyone can participate in the Front Door Food Drive. We wanted to make sure it was accessible to all, no matter one’s age or physical limitations. In this way, we can work together while being apart,” she said.
“Once we figured a safe way to hold a food drive, you could see the happiness on the faces of everyone in our office,” said Lang. “We have a wonderfully generous community, so finding a way to continue to engage safely is what we are all about right now.”
Questions can be sent to Olivia Lang at olang@allegheny.edu.
