Special to the American
To help ease the burden of choosing between paying utility bills or buying groceries for some people in our community, students in the Hazelwood School District contributed to The Emergency Assistance Ministry (TEAM) and Helping Hands Pantry through the St. Louis Area Foodbank. TEAM and Helping Hands are agencies that serve families in the district.
Measured in weight, the district donated 2,326 pounds of food, more than a ton, which is 2,000 pounds.
Lenora Young, director of product servicing for the St. Louis Area Foodbank, said that the donations will translate into 1,860 meals for area needy.
“It went really well,” Young said. “I was impressed.”
HSD early childhood education centers, elementary schools and middle schools were provided white plastic barrels in which students and staff members could donate non-perishable or canned food items. The St. Louis Area Food Bank and NFL Moms Tackling Hunger helped coordinate the food drive.
While the St. Louis Area Foodbank drive in the district concluded on November 10, the NFL Moms Tackling Hunger program, in conjunction with Campbell’s Chunky Soup and Feeding America, continues through December 31. Hunger affects more than 38 million Americans, so 35 mothers of NFL players are each trying to raise more food donations than any other NFL mom.
In our area, Tammy Davis, the mother of former St. Louis Rams football player Brandon Williams, is working on behalf of the community. Williams is a 2002 graduate of Hazelwood East High School.
Beginning in September (Hunger Action Month), each mom received 500 cans of Campbell’s Chunky soup to kick-start their campaigns. The moms
are working together with local Feeding America food banks in their hometowns to encourage other members of the community to help “tackle hunger.” At the end of the season, the three moms who generate the most donations for their local food banks will receive a trip to Tampa during the week of Super Bowl XLIII, where they’ll help to announce a “soup-er” donation n one million cans of Campbell’s soups to Feeding
America food banks nationwide.
The group of moms is led by one of the most recognizable “Team Moms” in
all sports, Wilma McNabb, mother of Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback, Donovan
McNabb.
The St. Louis Area Foodbank’s mission is to feed hungry people by distributing food through its member agencies and educating the public about the nature of and solving public hunger. It gathers nearly 14 million pounds of food annually and distributes the items to more than 500 food pantries, shelters and emergency feeding programs in eastern Missouri and southwestern Illinois.
For more information on the Tackling Hunger program or the Professional Football Player’s Mothers Association, contact ebobal@coynepr.com or visit www.pfpma.org. To find a Feeding America food bank affiliate near you or for more information how you can help, visit www.feedingamerica.org.