You CAN Help
Spring Break Food Drive Seeks to Feed 3,000 Local Students
Food For Thought Outreach is excited to announce their second annual “You CAN Help” Food and Membership Drive. This year, the food drive will run during the Okaloosa and Walton counties' Spring Break and the organization will be collecting food items and signing up new members March 19th through 23rd from 9am to 5:30pm at the Destin (908 Airport Rd.) and Santa Rosa Beach (132 Market St.) Pantry locations.
In the past two school years, the organization has taken on more students than they could have ever anticipated. Last year, the organization was serving 1,700 students a week after only planning for 1,500. Then, at the start of the 2017-2018 school year the nonprofit expected to grow to 2,500 students. Well, that number just continued to grow. To 2,700 students. To 2,800 students. And, as of last week, the organization is serving 2,900 students as Food For Thought added their 31st school to the program.
Tiffanie Nelson, Founder and Executive Director of Food For Thought Outreach, says, “This Spring Break Food and Membership Drive will help us push through the last few weeks of the school year. As we continue to grow, we will need more and more resources to support our local kids and families. We are continually overwhelmed by the community’s support and compassion for their community and their neighbors and we hope to see that commitment again during this food drive.”
Food For Thought will be accepting peanut butter & jelly in plastic jars, fruit cups, oatmeal packets, snacks like healthy granola bars, snack crackers, and breakfast bars, and easy to open, pop-top canned food (like soup, Chef Boyardee, veggies, tuna, and chicken). Anyone can join the FFT Membership Program for as little as $7.50 a month and those funds go directly to feeding local students in need. If you’d like to register online, please visit fftfl.org/products/monthly-membership or fftfl.org/products/annual-membership.
Food For Thought is setting a goal of 16,000 food items for the You CAN Help Food Drive. Nelson says that this is the number of additional food items needed each month and over 29,000 food items pass through the pantries each month. Those numbers only account for their backpack program. The nonprofit also conducts Holiday services during all school holidays, summer break, and has a snack program to assist teachers in the schools they serve.
“We will distribute well over 1,000,000 food items this year,” says Nelson. “The need is here right in our own backyards - neighbors, friends, colleagues, classmates that fall on hard times, face a loss at work or at home, or any number of reasons. We’re here to do all we can and are blessed that this community is so generous of their time and efforts. We can all help.”
Follow the Facebook Event Page, You CAN Help Food & Membership Drive and stay in the loop with special partner days including offers from Tropical Smoothie and Pizza by the Sea.
To support the You CAN Help Food Drive, visit fftfl.org/products/backpacks-of-food to donate! If you would like more information about volunteering, please email info@fftfl.org.
Spring Break Food Drive Seeks to Feed 3,000 Local Students
Food For Thought Outreach is excited to announce their second annual “You CAN Help” Food and Membership Drive. This year, the food drive will run during the Okaloosa and Walton counties' Spring Break and the organization will be collecting food items and signing up new members March 19th through 23rd from 9am to 5:30pm at the Destin (908 Airport Rd.) and Santa Rosa Beach (132 Market St.) Pantry locations.
In the past two school years, the organization has taken on more students than they could have ever anticipated. Last year, the organization was serving 1,700 students a week after only planning for 1,500. Then, at the start of the 2017-2018 school year the nonprofit expected to grow to 2,500 students. Well, that number just continued to grow. To 2,700 students. To 2,800 students. And, as of last week, the organization is serving 2,900 students as Food For Thought added their 31st school to the program.
Tiffanie Nelson, Founder and Executive Director of Food For Thought Outreach, says, “This Spring Break Food and Membership Drive will help us push through the last few weeks of the school year. As we continue to grow, we will need more and more resources to support our local kids and families. We are continually overwhelmed by the community’s support and compassion for their community and their neighbors and we hope to see that commitment again during this food drive.”
Food For Thought will be accepting peanut butter & jelly in plastic jars, fruit cups, oatmeal packets, snacks like healthy granola bars, snack crackers, and breakfast bars, and easy to open, pop-top canned food (like soup, Chef Boyardee, veggies, tuna, and chicken). Anyone can join the FFT Membership Program for as little as $7.50 a month and those funds go directly to feeding local students in need. If you’d like to register online, please visit fftfl.org/products/monthly-membership or fftfl.org/products/annual-membership.
Food For Thought is setting a goal of 16,000 food items for the You CAN Help Food Drive. Nelson says that this is the number of additional food items needed each month and over 29,000 food items pass through the pantries each month. Those numbers only account for their backpack program. The nonprofit also conducts Holiday services during all school holidays, summer break, and has a snack program to assist teachers in the schools they serve.
“We will distribute well over 1,000,000 food items this year,” says Nelson. “The need is here right in our own backyards - neighbors, friends, colleagues, classmates that fall on hard times, face a loss at work or at home, or any number of reasons. We’re here to do all we can and are blessed that this community is so generous of their time and efforts. We can all help.”
Follow the Facebook Event Page, You CAN Help Food & Membership Drive and stay in the loop with special partner days including offers from Tropical Smoothie and Pizza by the Sea.
To support the You CAN Help Food Drive, visit fftfl.org/products/backpacks-of-food to donate! If you would like more information about volunteering, please email info@fftfl.org.