South Hadley’s annual Bag the Community food drive will be held over Martin Luther King Day weekend to help fill the Neighbors Helping Neighbors Food Pantry’s shelves. The event is always held over MLK weekend in the spirit of service as the community comes together to help neighbors struggling with food insecurity.
The 2020 drive begins on Saturday, January 18, when volunteers will deliver brown paper bags with orange tags to the doorsteps of over 6,000 residences. Residents are asked to fill the bags with their donations and leave them on their front steps by Monday, January 20 at 9:00 a.m. to be collected by volunteers, who number in the hundreds. People of all ages from throughout the community assist with the drive, including high school and middle school students, sports teams, and students from Mount Holyoke College.
The pantry currently serves around 400 families each month and Bag the Community is the pantry’s largest drive, typically providing nearly half of its annual resources.
The pantry has a particular need for breakfast cereals such as Cheerios and oatmeal; canned proteins, soups and fruits; spaghetti sauce and other tomato products; cake and muffin mixes; fruit juices; coffee, tea and hot chocolate; and personal and household supplies. Food donors are reminded to check dates and be sure that donations are not out-of-date. Please, no donations of soda, water, candy or expired foods.
Additional volunteer drivers are still needed.
For more information, please email: bagthecommunity@gmail.com
Visit Bag the Community on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/bagthecommunity