People were handed extra shopping lists as they went into local stores for groceries Saturday.
The list was part of Shelter House’s Fall Food Drive. Volunteers were in front of six stores asking shoppers to pick up a few extra items that the shelter desperately needs over the coming months. The annual drive is the largest food campaign of the year for Shelter House and helps them serve 500 meals a day. Events coordinator Tessa Murray said that the summer time is usually a slower time for donations so cupboards at Shelter House are getting bare.
“With the weather getting a lot chillier we do have a lot more people utilizing the soup kitchen services so it’s very important that we have a lot of food on the shelves so we can feed all of those p[people coming in from the cold,” she said outside of Wal Mart Saturday morning.
People were also making cash donations or dropping off gift cards. The drive usually brings in around three tons of food.
“Hopefully we’ll keep up with that,” Murray said. “It’s very important that we stock our shelves.”
Coffee, sugar, canned goods and frozen meats were a few of the items most needed.
Because they don’t ask clients the reason for visiting Shelter House, Murray said they aren’t sure why but the number of people coming through the doors has been increasing.
