JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
A food drive that concludes Aug. 31 is giving members of the Joint Base San Antonio community an opportunity to combat hunger in Southwest Texas.
Collection points are set up throughout JBSA for the Feds Feed Families Food Drive, which benefits the San Antonio Food Bank, an organization that provides food and grocery products to more than 530 partner agencies in 16 Southwest Texas counties.
“The primary benefit of the food drive is helping people who need it the most,” said Senior Airman Samantha Ponton-McAfee, 902nd Security Forces Squadron entry controller and JBSA-Randolph representative for the food drive. “We’re giving back to the community because they give so much to us.”
Drop-off locations at JBSA-Randolph are the Rambler Fitness Center, building 999; medical clinic, building 1040; Child Development Center, building 1072; 902nd SFS, building 235; building 863; Air Force Manpower Analysis Agency, building 592; Air Force Personnel Center, building 499; and 502nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs, Hangar 6.
Each location has a large red trash can or a box clearly marked with food bank labels for easy identification.
Last year, the JBSA community contributed 846 pounds of canned goods and dry foods to the drive, Ponton-McAfee said. This year’s goal is 2,000 pounds.
“If every person brought one or two cans to one of the collection sites, we could easily reach that goal,” she said.
Needed items include cereal, oatmeal, pancake mixes, tuna and canned meats, pasta and rice meals, soup, canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter and jelly, and main meals such as chili, hearty soup and beef stew.
The Feds Feed Families Food Drive is a national effort, launched in 2009 as part of President Barack Obama’s “United We Serve” campaign, said Staff Sgt. Atly Blum, 502nd ABW Feds Feed Families coordinator.
“Feds Feed Families was designed to help local food banks and pantries stay stocked during the summer month, when they traditionally see a decrease in donations and an increase in need,” he said in his announcement of the drive.
The San Antonio Food Bank helps by distributing food to more than 58,000 people per week, 36 percent of them children under the age of 18, Blum said.
In fiscal year 2015, the food bank provided nearly 62 million pounds of food. Its mission is to fight hunger in Southwest Texas through food distribution, programs, education and advocacy.
“This food drive affords the opportunity to the JBSA family to come together and give to families in the San Antonio area,” Blum said.
“It’s really important to remember what this is for,” Ponton-McAfee said. “It’s helping someone who really needs it. You never know when you’ll be in that situation.”