Food for Seniors seeks one ton in canned goods for Friday donation drive
Apr. 11—CHAMPAIGN — The local Family Service of Champaign County nonprofit will be holding a food drive Friday that aims to collect one ton in food donations for its program that delivers groceries to over 170 seniors twice a month.
The Food for Seniors delivery service, which is run by the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program in the Helen Stevick Senior Center, is mainly looking to receive non-perishable canned goods, Robbie Edwards, the information coordinator for Family Services said.
The drive will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday and offer two locations accepting donations. People can drive up to the Helen Stevick Center at 2102 Windsor Place in Savoy or enter the Family Service building at 405 S. State St. in Champaign to drop off food.
Edwards said the Food for Seniors program is not at risk of running out of its current inventory. The purpose of the drive is more to cushion its supply and have a "backup plan" for the service that steadily provides local seniors 350 sacks of groceries every month.
She said the program not only supplies much needed food to seniors, but its volunteer delivery drivers also provide recipients routine face-to-face interactions, which can bolster seniors who are otherwise isolated.
"I don't care if somebody brings one can or 15 cans, it doesn't bother me, because one adds to two and going on forward that's a big thing," Edwards said.
"It's really important because it's an ongoing program for several years and we, like every other program, need a little bit of assistance in making sure that we have the food to distribute."
