Food drive results to be announced

By Sam Waller

Students from Albany and Cross Plains spent last month collecting food in a friendly competition between the school districts with results to be announced during Friday’s football game between the two high schools.

“We did a battle of the schools,” said Resource Care programs assistant Ragan Riley, who organized the drive. “Each school collected canned goods starting Oct. 1 and ending Nov. 1. They had a month to collect as much food as they could.”

Riley said the collected food will be contributed to each community’s local food bank.

“The food in Albany will go to our local food bank at the Youth Center that ResourceCare operates,” she said. “It’s going to feed about 50 families in Albany, mostly senior citizens in our Vittles by Vehicles program.”

Riley said the Cross Plains food bank provides for an average of 58 familes per month.

“During the holiday season, those numbers increase, so more food is needed,” she said.

This is the second year of the food drive, which began as a local project.

“We started last year with just the Albany schools, and the classes competed against themselves,” Riley said. “We thought bringing in another community would boost the number of cans we brought it, and it did.”

Riley said that even though the drive has ended, ResourceCare will continue to accept contributions to the local food bank.

“Anything during the holiday season helps,” she said. “Nonperishable food items or even gift cards from Brookshire’s that can be passed on to families for milk and cheese or cold meats would be fantastic.”

Contributions can be taken to ResourceCare’s front desk from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday or the Youth Center from 8:00 to 11:00 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.