Sisters donates tons to food bank

Bright and early on a chilly morning last week, 21 members of Sisters Kiwanis Club picked up and delivered over 7-1/2 tons of food for the local food bank.

It was hard work, but done with great pleasure; the volunteers reported the "Stuff The Truck" food collection program sponsored by Ray's Food Place during the month of December was an outstanding success.

The supermarket manager, Kiwanian Jeff McDonald, coordinated the food collection for the food bank. Local shoppers made a $20 contribution, and Ray's added an additional $5, which filled a grocery bag with basic foods. Over the past seven years, over $100,000 worth of food has been collected through this program, and this year alone, $20,550 was donated.

Some 822 bags of groceries were filled and donated - the most ever.

When things were all totaled, the poundage was quite substantial.

Green and black beans weighed in at 4,820 pounds; juices at 5,585 pounds; pancake mix and spaghetti at 1,625 pounds; mac & cheese, oatmeal, and jams at 1,656 pounds; and mixed fruits at 528 pounds, plus some miscellaneous items.

Sisters Kiwanis Food Bank Coordinator Naomi Rowe was delighted with such a large volume of food, but said "we almost ran out of storage space."

Kiwanis Club President Suzanne Carvlin was amazed by the energy, volunteers' pickup trucks and forklift that made a swift delivery of 11 pallets of food from Ray's to the food bank.