|
|
|
The people of Leavenworth County have plenty to be thankful for, according to officials at the St. Joseph, Mo.,-based Second Harvest Community Food Bank.
The organization conducted its 24th annual Mayor’s Thanksgiving Dinner Sunday at Civic Arena in St. Joseph. Rachel Graves, director of development and marketing for Second Harvest, said the event is a major fundraiser for Second Harvest and an opportunity to recognize individuals and groups who worked to helped those in need through Second Harvest.
Graves said among this year’s Humanitarian Award recipients were two from Leavenworth — the city’s Clergy Association and Walmart.
“They have gone above and beyond,” to help Second Harvest’s mission to fight hunger, Graves said of the honorees.
The Leavenworth Clergy Association was recognized for its work in initiating the Backpack Buddies program for the Leavenworth Public Schools. In the program, students in prekindergarten, kindergarten and in the Northeast Kansas Community Action Program Head Start program who qualify receive backpacks of food before each weekend.
Allen Ohlstein said he was a deacon at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and was working at Hunger Relief Network at Episcopal Community Services in the Kansas City area when he had the idea two years ago to form a backpack program in the town where he had lived for more than 20 years.
Both the clergy association, a group of churches of different denominations in the city, and the Leavenworth School Board were supportive of the idea. He has since moved to Little Rock, Ark., but he said he was happy to say that the program has not slowed down, expanding to serve about 250 students a week from 120. And the organizers now hope to keep expanding the number of students served each year.
“It’s like Thanksgiving everyday,” both for the students who receive the food and the groups that organize it, he said of the program.
The Leavenworth Walmart store was honored along with nine other stores in Second Harvest’s 19-county service area. Graves said the location were recognized for their effort in providing local communities with produce, meat and canned goods directly from their shelves.
“They are more than happy to help out their local pantries,” including the three in Leavenworth County that are part of the Second Harvest network, Graves said.
Since the partnership began, more than 558,000 pounds of food has been donated to Second Harvest and its member pantries through the efforts of those local Walmart stores, according to information from the food bank.
Though those efforts of Second Harvest and Backpack Buddies is ongoing, Ohlstein said the dinner Sunday was a good way to reflect on the work that is being done and look forward to the tasks still ahead. It was also a good way to celebrate the holiday normally reserved for giving thanks.
“It was amazing to come back and not only spend time with my family, but also to be able to represent the Clergy Association at the dinner in St. Joseph,” he said.
The people of Leavenworth County have plenty to be thankful for, according to officials at the St. Joseph, Mo.,-based Second Harvest Community Food Bank.
The organization conducted its 24th annual Mayor’s Thanksgiving Dinner Sunday at Civic Arena in St. Joseph. Rachel Graves, director of development and marketing for Second Harvest, said the event is a major fundraiser for Second Harvest and an opportunity to recognize individuals and groups who worked to helped those in need through Second Harvest.
Graves said among this year’s Humanitarian Award recipients were two from Leavenworth — the city’s Clergy Association and Walmart.
“They have gone above and beyond,” to help Second Harvest’s mission to fight hunger, Graves said of the honorees.
The Leavenworth Clergy Association was recognized for its work in initiating the Backpack Buddies program for the Leavenworth Public Schools. In the program, students in prekindergarten, kindergarten and in the Northeast Kansas Community Action Program Head Start program who qualify receive backpacks of food before each weekend.
Allen Ohlstein said he was a deacon at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and was working at Hunger Relief Network at Episcopal Community Services in the Kansas City area when he had the idea two years ago to form a backpack program in the town where he had lived for more than 20 years.
Both the clergy association, a group of churches of different denominations in the city, and the Leavenworth School Board were supportive of the idea. He has since moved to Little Rock, Ark., but he said he was happy to say that the program has not slowed down, expanding to serve about 250 students a week from 120. And the organizers now hope to keep expanding the number of students served each year.
“It’s like Thanksgiving everyday,” both for the students who receive the food and the groups that organize it, he said of the program.
The Leavenworth Walmart store was honored along with nine other stores in Second Harvest’s 19-county service area. Graves said the location were recognized for their effort in providing local communities with produce, meat and canned goods directly from their shelves.
“They are more than happy to help out their local pantries,” including the three in Leavenworth County that are part of the Second Harvest network, Graves said.
Since the partnership began, more than 558,000 pounds of food has been donated to Second Harvest and its member pantries through the efforts of those local Walmart stores, according to information from the food bank.
Though those efforts of Second Harvest and Backpack Buddies is ongoing, Ohlstein said the dinner Sunday was a good way to reflect on the work that is being done and look forward to the tasks still ahead. It was also a good way to celebrate the holiday normally reserved for giving thanks.
“It was amazing to come back and not only spend time with my family, but also to be able to represent the Clergy Association at the dinner in St. Joseph,” he said.
