The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Patty Simons Food Drive kicks off 22nd year
NORRISTOWN » The 22nd Annual Law Enforcement Food Drive is once again underway. In November of 2007 the food drive was renamed in dedication of Norristown Police Department Lieutenant Patty Simons. Simons was an active and vocal member of this effort since its inception, and we would like her legacy to continue to be part of this wonderful cause that was dear to her heart.
The planning committee met on November 2, 2017 at Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown.
More than a dozen local law enforcement agencies and area businesses will team up to collect more than 15 tons of food. The food drive, one of the largest in our region, will supply the Catholic Social Services in Norristown, Methacton School District Backpack Program, Patrician Society in Norristown, the Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard in Ambler, the Daily Bread Community Food Pantry and the Salvation Army Norristown Corps with food for operations throughout the next year.
A big thank you to J.P. Mascaro and Sons for once again supporting our Law
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Enforcement Food Drive by donating the boxes and containers used in our food collection efforts. And a big thanks to Elmwood Park Zoo Chief Executive Officer Al Zone for joining our team and partnering with us. Thanks to the generosity from the zoo we will have a warm, dry place to store the food and toys from now until our delivery in December of this year.
Catholic Social Services — through their core values of compassion, dignity, charity, justice and excellence — feeds a total of 700 people a month in Norristown, in only three sessions per week.
The Methacton School Snack Backpack Program provides up to 165 students with child-friendly, easy-to-prepare, nutritious food items for children to take home with them every weekend during the school year.
The Patrician Society rents space at Saint Patrick’s School basement in Norristown to feed 1500 families monthly. They are the largest cupboard in Montgomery County solely funded by private donations instead of county or state funds. For 35 years, they have been providing assistance for elderly people on fixed incomes, homeless people and families in need.
The Cupboard was founded by Mattie N. Dixon, a longtime resident of Ambler and a true visionary. In response to learning that people in her community were going hungry, she started serving families out of her basement in 1973. They feed 50 families daily and their mission is to facilitate the concept of “neighbors helping neighbors” without regard to race, creed or national origin.
They strive to keep families together by providing goods and services to them so they can become more self-sufficient over time.
The Daily Bread Community Food Pantry is the 4th largest food pantry in Montgomery County, serving approximately 300 families or 1,200 individuals each month. The pantry serves a broad area in Montgomery County — from the northern reaches of Perkiomenville and Gilbertsville to the southern areas of Collegeville and Eagleville.
It is overseen by the Community Action Development Commission (CADCOM), the leading anti-poverty agency in Montgomery County. Unlike many other food pantries, the Daily Bread Community Food Pantry attempts to provide a full week of emergency food for all those it serves.
It aims to provide personal care products not covered by Food Stamps that hit hard at family food shopping budgets. This includes items like toilet paper, feminine care products, diapers, wipes, and other hygiene supplies.
The pantry also provides food for special populations. For example, there are diabetic and gluten-free food and supplies, food for beloved family pets, and special packages for new mothers or guardians that include things like formula, diapers and wipes.
The Salvation Army’s food shelter serves 200 hundred meals a month, along with breakfast, lunch and dinner. When families leave the shelter they are also provided with food in an effort to help them start out on their own.
The Salvation Army, also serves as a Code Blue location during cold emergencies. Since its founding as a religious and social services organization 140 years ago, the organization has taken a holistic approach to working with people to address their physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs. The Salvation Army is now classified as a Choice Pantry, which means that families are able to “shop” for food items they want and will use rather than just receiving a bag of food.
Food may be dropped off at all participating police departments and businesses with the final day of collection being Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017.
On Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017 at 9:30 a.m., a parade of police cars and motorcycles will lead a flatbed tractor-trailer loaded with donated food and toys from the Elmwood Park Zoo to The Salvation Army on Swede Street.
Dozens of law enforcement officers, politicians and government representatives will form a human assembly line to unload the trailer. The Salvation Army Band will be on hand to provide music and holiday cheer.
The rest of the food will be brought to the Catholic Social Services and the Patrician Society in Norristown, the Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard in Ambler, the Daily Bread Community Food Pantry in Collegeville and to the Snack Backpack Program at the Methacton School District.