Community Support Fuels Food Drives as Tackle Hunger Kicks Off
This summer, our community showed up in a big way, answering the call for our most-needed, shelf-stable food items. At Shop Out Hunger on Aug. 15, shoppers gave generously at local Schnucks, Dierbergs and Straub’s Markets, where they purchased extra items for donation. Nearly $10,000 in cash and more than 70,000 lbs. of food was brought in—enough to provide 78,525 meals for families facing food insecurity.
“It’s amazing what we can do in one day, with the support of the community,” says Laura Gregory, OFS volunteer and food drive manager. “The food collected goes out immediately and continues to nourish our neighbors in the days, weeks and months ahead.”
The CITY x Schnucks Food Drive brought St. Louis CITY SC fans together in support of OFS in August. The week-long drive took place at Schnucks locations across the metro area and culminated in an appearance by CITY SC players at the Lindenwood Schnucks on Aug. 6. Miguel Perez, Tomáš Ostrák, and Tyson Pearce greeted fans, signed autographs and took photos, all while encouraging donations of shelf-stable food. The drive brought in 5,121 lbs. of food, enough to provide more than 4,200 meals.
As the school year gets under way, OFS is partnering once again with Neighbors Credit Union and KSDK 5 On Your Side for Tackle Hunger, one of our largest food drives. For the fifth year, the campaign brings high schools and communities together in a friendly competition to see who can collect the most food donations. Schools preparing to match up for the big game on Friday night, with students spearheading the effort to collect food. Last year, the top performing schools were Orchard Farm, Incarnate Word, and Lutheran South. 
Since its launch, Tackle Hunger has brought in more than 215,000 pounds of food and nearly $5,000 in cash donations. Altogether, these contributions represent a monetary value of $399,000, providing one day of nutritious meals for 58,788 residents in the community.
“Every donation to a food drive truly matters,” says Gregory. “Even a single can makes a difference to someone facing hunger. It’s amazing to see how high school students understand that and work to help however they can.”
If you’d like to join in the effort, it’s simple to create your own food drive! Whether you organize a large drive or simply donate a few shelf-stable Items, every donation helps ensure families across our region have access to nutritious food.
Learn more here about how to hold a food and fund drive.
