Starkville Strong calls on community for food box drive
Starkville Strong does many great things for the community, and they focus on making Starkville a better place for everyone here. On Saturday, March 6, they are hosting a food box drivethru at Emerson Family Center at 11 a.m.
In order to make the boxes, Starkville Strong is asking for donations for 10 of each item from each donor as the goal is to get 100 of each item.
Brandi Herrington, the head of Starkville Strong, said they will take all the donations they can get and there are options for overflow.
“If we receive donations that put us over 100 of each item, we will do one of two things,” Herrington said, “give out more on the day of the event or take the overflow and add it to the Starkville Strong pantries.”
The items include bars of soap,
bottles of shampoo, men’s deodorant, boxes feminine hygiene pads, boxes of feminine hygiene tampons, dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent, Jiffy mix boxes, packs of tortillas, cans of tuna, cans of cubed chicken, cans of soup, cans of vegetables, boxes of macaroni, packs spaghetti noodles, cans/jars of pasta sauce, canisters of oatmeal, cans of fruit, jars of jelly, jars of peanut butter, jars of mayonnaise, bottles of ketchup, bottles of mustard, boxed meals like Hamburger Helper and Ricearoni, bags of rice, bags of beans, boxes of cereal, snack foods, packs of razors and shelf stable cartons of milk.
All of the donated items can be dropped off or sent to Dunkington at 109 South Lafayette Street in Starkville.
“People are hurting for relief in many ways right now,” Herrington said. “One of the easiest ways to give back is to help people have food on their tables and ensure in even the smallest ways, that people have options. Starkville Strong does Pantry Hours, Food Box Drive Throughs and continuously puts food in the little food pantries to give the relief needed. The important of that mission is seen by the faces of gratitude and the thank yous we receive.”
The community drives mean a lot to Herrington and Starkville Strong whose two missions are to “provide support and meet the needs of Starkville’s diverse community” and to “collaborate with the Starkville community to make connections and meet the needs of local residents,” according to their Facebook group.
“The feedback from the helpers in the community has been overwhelmingly supportive,” Herrington said. “People are continuing to band together with us to try and be a force for good and empathy. The gratitude and words of thanks from those in need is what drive us to keep going through. When you get into the community and see the true stress and worry on the faces of so many, you realize just how much impact a small gesture can make. We continue to work hard to not only provide relief where we can, but to focus on accessibility to resources, information, community help, guidance and counseling.”
On top of the items Starkville Strong needs to complete the food boxes, they are also looking for volunteers for the event. Volunteers will need to meet at Dunkington at 10 a.m. Saturday which will is an hour before the drive-thru is scheduled to happen at Emerson Family Center.
Herrington would love to do more with Starkville Strong when it comes to community drive-thrus, but it is a nonprofit organization, so they rely completely on donations and volunteers.
“At the current rate of donations and support, we can consistently do one Pantry Hours or Drive Through a month,” Herrington said. “This is in addition to food deliveries and stocking the little pantries. The hope is that we can rotate to different locations and plan more of these events. Small businesses, organizations, groups and individuals can join in and I think that’s when we will see our efforts do the most good.”
If you are interested in volunteering for the event on this coming Saturday or if you are interested in buying supplies, make sure you sign up online. The link is a long one but you can sig up here: www.signupgenius.com/ go/70a0b44adab29a1f85-pantry.