Pelham Food Drive helps to feed ongoing need

Pelham residents will again show they care with the town’s annual food drive Saturday.

The door-to-door collection organized by Pelham Cares will begin at 9 a.m. and end about 3 p.m. Anyone wanting to donate should place items on their doorstep before 9 a.m.

Lori Grande, Pelham Cares coordinator of client services, said the organization needs canned food, but not tuna — she said it has a lot of tuna.

Grande said there is a need for just about everything else, including juice boxes, plain oatmeal, stews and cereal. The organization is also in need of personal hygiene and care products, such as deodorant and soap.

In addition to non-perishable donations, Pelham Cares is in need of volunteers. Grande said she needs about 300 volunteers to make the event a success. Anyone who in interested in volunteering should sign up by contacting Pelham Cares at 905-892-5300 or by emailing info@pelhamcares.org.

People can help sort and check dates of food or volunteer to pick up donations at people’s homes.

“It’s a busy day of co-ordinatiing with people and getting ready,” Grande said.

Although the organization doesn’t weigh the goods collected, Grande said she expects it collected about 450 kilograms of food last year. She hopes it can collect as much Saturday.

Community members can also donate money, which Grande said will be used to purchase perishable food, including bread and meat.

The organization helps about 50 families a month.

“The food drive really helps. There is a need, but it’s not always an obvious need,” Grande said.