This Saturday, May 7th, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul-Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden are oining together to “make hunger go extinct” in Greater Cincinnati by hosting a food donation drive at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden from 10am until 2pm.
Volunteers and donation barrels will be set up in the Historic Vine Street Village, just across from the Zoo Gift Shop. Guests who donate a minimum of three non-perishable food items when they visit the Zoo on Saturday will receive a free child ticket ($13 value) with the purchase of an adult ticket. Limit one ticket per person. Tickets are redeemable August 20 – September 30, 2016.
“During the summer months, families truly struggle to feed their children as they can no longer rely on school lunches,” said Mike Dunn, Executive Director, St. Vincent de Paul – Cincinnati. “For parents who count every dollar, those extra meals can mean making the choice between feeding their children or paying the rent. With a stocked pantry, we can help alleviate that pressure.”
“Serving our community has been a part of our Zoo’s mission for the past 5 or 6 years, where we recognize our responsibility to partner with diverse and economically challenged communities in our daily work,” says Fia Cifuentes, Sustainable Communities Advocate for the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. “Improving food access has been a major focus for us. Growing food locally, understanding where food comes from, and ensuring all has access to healthy diets – whether animal or person – is so important for a positive future for our environments. We are happy and proud to support St. Vincent de Paul with this food drive.”
All of the food collected in this Saturday’s food drive will be distributed at St. Vincent de Paul’s Liz Carter Outreach Center Choice Food Pantry in the West End, which serves a total of 9 zip codes, including Avondale’s 45229. They are most in need of tomato products like spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, and any kind of canned tomato; various soups and stocks; meals in a can (such as ravioli); and personal care items.
Each donation barrel can support an estimated 250 pounds of canned goods. If we reach our goal of filling 10 barrels, it would provide the food allotment for the month for approximately 167 people. In addition, St. Vincent de Paul serves an estimated 3,000 people per month, and distributes approximately 36,000 pounds of food, valuing $1,000,000 per year.
St. Vincent de Paul operates many food pantries throughout Cincinnati, including the Edyth and Carl J. Lindner Choice Food Pantry in the West End, nine neighborhood-based pantries and many food closets. More than 900 parish-based volunteers visit the homes of struggling families in their own neighborhoods to provide basic necessities such as food.
To learn more, visit www.SVDPcincinnati.org or call 513-421-HOPE (4673).
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