Thursday, Jun. 19, 2008

County takes part in Feed the Need

It's June, and that means Feed the Need season in Johnson County.

For more than 20 years, that's exactly what it's meant, as the Feed the Need campaign again fired up efforts with the county to gather food for local pantries and other organizations.

Maury Thompson, Feed the Need chair, said this year's event aimed to be bigger and better than in years past.

"We're continuing a long-standing tradition of county employees helping their neighbors in need," Thompson said. "They get extremely involved, and I've been impressed with the actions, especially of some specific employees who have really showed the way."

The theme for this year's event is "The Summer Olympics" to coincide with the Olympics, which will take place in China in August. The goal of the campaign is to raise 135 tons of food in either cash or food donations. A dollar equates to four pounds of food, according to a release.

The food drive began in 1987 with a collection that brought in less than a ton of food. By last year, that number had risen to almost 147 tons.

Thompson said the county focuses on two charities: Feed the Need and the United Way. The limited number of charities helps the county make a bigger impact.

He said another important effort within the county was attempting to make the fundraiser more of a 12-month campaign. In the past, he said, the efforts had revolved mostly around June and this event. Now everyone is trying to pitch in throughout the year.

"I believe the county employees want the chance to help their neighbors," he said.

Feed the Need is a regional effort put on by the Mid-America Regional Council, the Mid-America Assistance Coalition and Harvesters International. The campaign ends July 2.

The campaign benefits 10 pantries, including Catholic Community Services, Salvation Army and First Christian Church in Olathe.

Tamra Brandes is the assistant program manager at Catholic Community Services, and she said the campaign brought a much-needed spike in services for the organization.

"This is a wonderful time of year for this type of donation drive," Brandes said.

She said that the cost of gas and groceries coupled with the facts that many donor families are on vacation and schools aren't having fundraisers hurt pantries.

"We try to stretch a far as we can to get to the school year," Brandes said. "Then things start to even out. It's a lean time for pantries, and there's a heightened need."

She said the assistance her organization receives helps get through the lean times.

"This is a huge help, And this is really local," she said. "For the employees to donate their time, efforts and money to help out is important. I'm anxiously looking forward to what the campaign will come up with this year."

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