With food costs on the rise, Bishop Ireton High School summer campers are contributing to a local charity’s goal of collecting 25,000 pounds of food every month this summer.
The drive is part of the Catholic Charities St. Lucy Food Project‘s “Summer for Hungry Children” campaign. On Friday (July 24), kids participating in summer camp at Bishop Ireton High School will donate canned fruit, vegetables, peanut butter and other shelf stable items.
Last year, Bishop Ireton students collected more than 1,200 pounds of food for the summer drive.
Food insecurity affects a significant number of city residents.
According to the city:
- 8% of households in Alexandria are food insecure and 9% of Alexandria residents are living with resources below the federal poverty line.
- 44% of individuals in Alexandria who are food insecure are not eligible for government assistance due to income.
The nonprofit gets help every summer from a number of community partners, and gathers food year-round from many of the diocesan schools and churches in the area.
“Right now, especially in the summertime, the need for food items that kids are able to eat since they’re not in school getting free meals is going up,” James McCaskey, an outreach specialist from Catholic Charities St. Lucy Food Project, told ALXnow. “Summer is definitely a slower time. A lot of people are traveling, and we usually work with churches to do food drives, but you know, they’re busy during the summer as well, so we don’t have as much coming in.”
Food can be dropped off at the Catholic Charities Alexandria food pantry at 4527A Eisenhower Avenue. Non-expired and unopened food donations are accepted on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Catholic Charities St. Lucy Food Project needs:
- Instant oatmeal packets
- Mac and cheese
- Cereal
- Peanut butter
- Canned tuna/chicken
- Canned fruit
- Jelly/jam (no glass containers)
- Shelf-stable milk
- Tuna packets
- Chicken packets
Donations can also be made through the St. Lucy Food Project’s Amazon wish list.
