ELLY GRIMM

    • Leader & Times

Many families in the community are struggling with food insecurity, and the City of Liberal is looking to help with just that.

The city will be hosting its second annual food drive through Dec. 18. Everyone is welcome to bring non-perishable food items to support fellow residents, and donations may be dropped off in the administration lobby at City Hall.

Chief Communications Officer Keeley Young said support of last year’s drive was incredible.

“Last year was the first year we did something like this, and so it was completely experimental. We didn't know what to expect, and we were totally blown away by the amount that was collected,” Young said. “People were engaged, excited and very generous in their donations, so we felt we definitely needed to bring it back again this year. This year’s drive just started, and we're planning to run it through Dec. 18 – however, if food keeps arriving, we'll keep collecting it and pass it on. Last year, the donations kept rolling in, which was great. We have a lot of people who visit City Hall often for so many different reasons, whether it's paying a water bill or coming in for a permit, etc. We also have a lot of employees who take part in this, so it felt like the right place to be able to do a community food drive. This year, we’re looking forward to seeing what comes in. There were some pretty cool donations brought in last year, there were people who brought in totes full of food, and there was even a church group that got together as a group and put together meal kits along with recipes and dropped those off, so it has been just really heartwarming to see people's willingness to give and to help their fellow neighbors.”

Young said the success of last year’s drive cemented the decision for this year’s drive to occur, and she hopes to see a lot of donations again.

“Every item counts, and you do not have to donate a lot. Even a little goes a long way in helping families that are just trying to get by day to day,” Young said. “For a lot of families, especially those with children, it's quite a struggle to not have enough food in the home. We definitely encourage, if you have the capability to give, do so, because it helps the person you're donating to. It's also a great feeling for donors as well. This is our community, these are our people. I think we need to stand up for each other and support each other, and this is just one other way for people to be able to do that within our community.”

Suggested non-perishable foods include canned fruits, vegetables and meats, peanut butter, cereal and oatmeal, nuts, dried fruits, and dried beans, canned soup, rice, pasta, shelf-stable milk, boxed meals, and packaged snacks and crackers.

“We do not have a fridge or freezer at City Hall, so we can't accept anything that requires refrigeration, and we highly recommend people check the expiration date on whatever they plan on donating,” Young said. “Again, every donation makes a difference. It's very easy to pick up a couple additional items while you're at the store and bring them in to City Hall if there's a time you have to come in and pay a bill or take care of something else. We're glad to be that drop-off point and help give back to the community. And there are people in town who might not be aware of how to donate to one of the food banks in town, so we're happy to help with that too.”

Young said she is looking forward to seeing how this year’s drive ends up.

“We were having to schedule pickups at points a couple of times a week, and we were filling entire cars full of food, and so I'm expecting pretty much the same response this year, if not more,” Young said. “Last year, when we announced our food drive, we noticed several other businesses or organizations in town also kicked theirs off, so I hope that there's the same ripple effect throughout the community and others will start food drives so we fill that great need in our local food banks. Many of them do not get funding to be able to purchase food, only to support other general operations, so this is critically important and something we're able to help directly impact the lives of people through. No matter how much we get, it's going to make a difference to someone. Whether we collect a little or a lot, every donation is going to help someone in the community, which is important. We know there are senior citizens in the community struggling to make ends meet, and we know there are some children who, during the holiday months especially, don't have the food resources they would have by going to school. Being able to do this, especially this time of year, is really critical for a lot of people.”

And after the collections are finished, Young said she is looking forward to actually distributing the donations.

“Our process is to reach out to our local food pantry, which then works with the different community organizers to be able to spread the food out across the different needs through the different distribution points,” Young said. “I know there are some churches that do food collection, and I know the Community Action Coalition for Families provides more direct response if there is a local need and it is more urgent. They can't wait until a distribution date. They do work to get that directly to families and households that are in need. So we really do work across the board with all of the volunteers in town to be able to make sure this food is reaching the right people. I remember last year,  I always looked forward to the days we were able to have volunteers come pick the donations up because you could see the relief and the excitement and the appreciation they had for every bag of food we were able to carry out for them, because they know, having visited those families and talked with people directly about their struggle, just how important every donation is. We're always excited to see their enthusiasm and help brighten their day, because the work that they do is a labor of love. These volunteers are trying their best to support other people, and so being able to give them the resources to do that is really meaningful.”

And even though this is only the drive’s second year, Young said she hopes to see it keep growing.

“After how everything turned out last year, we realized this would be an annual thing, there was no way that we couldn’t keep it going in some way,” Young said. “It is one of those programs that is so easy to put together, and it does a lot of good for the community. I definitely see this happening seasonally in the future, and as other needs occur. Of course, if there are, special circumstances or hardships in the community, I think we have found we're a good donation spot and can organize quickly and make things happen. That is our goal, to be able to support when there's a need. We would love it if people in the community continued spreading the word for us, we'd love to get as many donations as possible to help as many people as possible.”