In the midst of this scary crisis in our history come along the hearts that define a community. With schools being closed, breakfast and lunch are not available, and with many of the children we serve through FLOC, this means hunger is a day to day reality. There are so many families who have so little.
FLOC has partnered with the fantastic organization Shoes 4 the Shoeless, and their Director, Kris Horlacher. We have come together, with a number of local non profits in order to provide much needed food items to area families in great need, as identified by school partners and various local organizations. We have developed a very specific list of food items, based on a nutritionist’s input. We are now on our fourth wave of purchase, organization and distribution of these food boxes to our families. Our first wave was completed in late February; we served 8500 individual meals, providing much needed sustenance, and with that, hope. Our last wave was completed in May. In total, have fed well over 90,000 people. We are most profoundly grateful to our volunteers.
We may have another round of shopping- to be determined. Would you like to join our efforts? You are most needed in this emergent time. If so, here are the exact items we are looking for:
- Pancake Mix and Syrup
- Instant Oatmeal
- Cereal
- Granola Bars
- Peanut Butter
- Jelly
- 2 Loaves of Bread
- Pretzels
- Cheese and/or Peanut Butter Crackers
- Microwave Popcorn
- Pudding Cups
- Fruit Cups
- 2 Cans of Fruit
- 2 Cans of Veggies
- 2 Cans of Beef Ravioli
- 2 Cans of Hearty Soup- Dinty Moore or Chunky
- Box of Instant Rice
- 2 Boxes of Mac and Cheese
- 2 Boxes of Pasta Sauce
- 2 Boxes of Spaghetti
- 4 Cans of Chicken
- 4 Cans of Cream of Chicken Soup
- 1 Bag of Egg Noodles
- 2 Bags of rice and Broccoli Sides or 2 Boxes of Tuna Helper
Here’s what you would need to do: Gather a few friends, shop away, and assemble these food items listed above into boxes. We are asking for people to be Box Champions; fill each box with all the supplies listed. If you have completed boxes, please contact me at beth7mann@gmail.com. They will be distributed all throughout our community by wonderful volunteers who will have the gift of presentation, and the reception of deep gratitude. If you have other resources you would like to offer, please contact me. I will have them taken to the wonderful Dayton Mall Non Profit Co-Op, run by the Marketing Director there, the ever fabulous Karen Kelly Brown.
You can truly make a HUGE difference during a time when our world seems so dark. You can be the light in the storm.
Stay safe, stay healthy, know we are Dayton strong!