Updated December 21, 2011
From a volunteer perspective: blog post written by Jay Landreth, Volunteer with the Capital Area Food Bank:
These Caps fans were feeling loose because of the Thanksgiving Holiday.
Thousands of pounds of food walked into the Verizon Center destined for distribution to individuals who were unemployed, under-employed, homeless, struggling to keep their homes and struggling to keep their heads above water. Those fans brought plastic bags filled with cans on the Metro with them. Women pulled cans of food out of purses. Cans of yams and boxes of mac and cheese came out of jacket pockets. Cans of tuna, jars of applesauce, peanut butter and an assortment of single-serving foods filled box after box at the entryway doors.
We were stationed by the door to take food donations. We held orange buckets out to receive cash donations from people who forgot to bring a can, but wanted to help the Capital Area Food Bank feed people in need of assistance.
These Caps fans stepped up and donated generously.
Loose change. Quarters, dimes, nickels and 31 pennies. A total of $1,634.81 was collected, of which $19.81 was in coins.
I handed out brochures to alot of people saying that the food bank can turn ONE DOLLAR into THREE MEALS. I believe that. I’ve seen it done. I have seen the beneficiaries of it.
Until that night, I hadn’t seen people dig to the bottom of their pocket for change. I mean, the BOTTOM of their pocket. That’s where the pennies get stuck.
So, those 31 pennies? That was a meal. Doesn’t sound like much does it? Really? Ever miss a meal? Ever been in a position where you don’t know where your next meal is coming from? I don’t mean deciding where to go eat, I mean not having a clue whether there is a meal in your future.
Caps fans believe that the Capital Area Food Bank helps feed thousands of people in the metro region every day. They do it with food drawn from many different resources and processed by people, paid and unpaid, who care about people who face chronic hunger. People who want to help others less fortunate than themselves. People who dig deep, to the very bottom of their pockets, to make sure there is enough for one more meal for someone who needs it.
Thank you for supporting the Capital Area Food Bank and more importantly those struggling to get enough food to eat.