Mo. food bank to raise food, cash for SERVE

The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri will be collecting food and money for a local food pantry in Callaway County.

The Food Bank's annual Partnership Against Hunger Food and Fund Drive will run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 26 at a booth in front of the Fulton Walmart. All monetary or food donations, such as peanut butter, canned goods, cereals and boxed meals, will go to SERVE, Inc.'s pantry.

Food Bank Communications Coordinator Scott Gordon said that at last year's drive, Callaway County "provided over 9,000 meals worth of food and money. We hope to build on that record on Nov. 26, since demand for food at the local food pantry has increased over the past year."

The Food Bank stated in a press release that $1 in monetary donations can provide 15 pounds of food.

Qualifying families can visit the SERVE food pantry once a month. Callaway Action Network Director Julie Roark said that the pantry currently has enough canned goods to last about another week due to an increase in demand.

"We had 1,100 (families) in the month of October ... which is still not our highest number overall, but probably second highest in the last 10 years," Roark said. "We're seeing an increasing need and a lot of families are very stressed.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.