Food drive under way in San Luis to benefit food bank
SAN LUIS, Ariz. – Residents and businesses in this city are getting the call to contribute non-perishable goods in a food drive that will benefit the Yuma Community Food Bank.
The drive is being organized by students in YouthBuild, a San Luis-based remedial education program for youths seeking their high school equivalency cerntificates.
Late last month, students in the current YouthBuild class began going door to door in San Luis in their efforts to meet a goal of collecting 5,000 pounds of food for the food bank.
“The appeal to the people is that the open their doors to the youths, that they help them however they can with nonperishable food,” said Jesus Lopez, who coordinates the YouthBuild program in San Luis.
The food bank provides food for needy individuals and families from around Yuma County, and YouthBuild has organized the drive to benefit the organization in each of the past three years.
This time, though, the students are raising the bar in their collection effort. Previous students in YouthBuild collected and delivered 3,000 pounds of food to the food bank.
Lopez said the food drive will conclude April 21, with the student delivering the goods to the food bank on the same day that Global Youth Day of Community Service is observed.
“The students are collecting canned foods that have not expired as well as packaged, non-perishable food,” said Lopez. “I hope (the public) can support them in reaching their goal and helping the food bank to help more people,” said Lopez.
Youthbuild is a nationwide program that helps high school dropouts work toward their GED high school equivalency certificates and gain vocational skills. In San Luis, the YouthBuild program is administered by Project PPEP, a Tucsonbased nonprofit organization that operates charter high schools and provides vocational training in rural Arizona.
Apart from going door to door, the students have set up a collection site at the PPEP office in San Luis, 731 N. 1st Ave., where donations can be left from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information about donating to the drive, contact Lopez at (928) 920-3631 or jlopez3@ppep.org.