With Christmas only six weeks away, the Kiwanis Club of Elmira is gearing up for their annual food drive, aiming to gather 20,000 pounds of food for the Woolwich Community Services Christmas hamper program.
Co-chair of the food drive, and club past-president Fred Karpala says last year’s food drive went well. It was the first year they were able to store the donated food at WCS because they had their new building open.
“We usually look for a place where we can store the food when it comes in. Over the years we’ve used various places and since most of it was ready they let us use it. Once the canvassers went on their various routes they started bringing it back and we started piling it in the kitchen area. It built from there,” Karpala said.
They had nearly 200 volunteers last year and WCS produced 162 hampers, which included 219 children and 225 adults.
Canvassers will go door-to-door in most areas of Woolwich Township on Nov. 21 starting at 9 a.m., looking for donations.
“We’re fortunate because Breslau is a big, growing area and it’s far away from here. If we had people that congregated here and then went out there, it would take 20 minutes to half an hour to just get there and then do their route. We’re fortunate that the Breslau air cadets have for the last three or four years volunteered to do the whole area of Breslau,” Karpala said.
They’re also helped by a variety of groups including the EDSS FIRST Robotics team, the St. Jacobs Lions Club, local scouts, and several hockey teams, to name a few. He notes the robotics team is a big help, covering a few routes in Elmira.
Last year they toned down the food drive a bit to not include some of the outlying areas, which take a lot of time, but don’t have a lot of houses. They did this because some years they’ve gathered so much food the Woolwich Food Bank had to spread it out to other local food banks.
“This year we’re probably trying to match that 20,000 pounds. It’s been growing each year. I remember the first food drive that I was involved with, I think we did about 8,000 pounds. Even when the economy wasn’t great people were still very generous,” Karpala said.
He notes the Kiwanis club doesn’t make any money off of this, it’s all for the Christmas hamper program. It’s the club’s largest community service event.
“We only provide the food part. They add to it when they produce their hampers. They get toys … and they get a turkey and add a bunch of other things. We just provide the food. In addition to what we collect we also provide potatoes, enough so they can give five- or 10-pound bags for families, which won’t last that long but at least over Christmas families can have a good meal,” Karpala said.
The food bank isn’t looking for any items in particular, but they must all be non-perishable because the hampers won’t be put together until mid-December. People can also donate new toiletries like shampoo, soap, laundry detergent, toothpaste, Kleenex – anything someone would need for their household. Monetary donations are welcome, too.
“I’ve been there a couple times,” Karpala says of the days when volunteers put together the Christmas hampers at the Lions Hall in Elmira. “We were bringing over some of the stuff, like the potatoes. Although our pile of food looked big, with everything else it seemed to be just a small part. It’s a big undertaking. We’re proud and pleased that we can provide part of it.”
The food drive runs Nov. 21 from 9 a.m. until about noon, or when all the routes are completed. Anyone planning to leave a donation on their doorstep is asked to have it outside by 9 a.m. They’re also asked to label that it’s for the food drive, or attach the food drive flyers, to ensure nothing gets improperly picked up.
