Stocking Food Pantries

VINCENNES, IND. (WTHI) -      With summertime here, the number of families needing help from food pantries rises while donations fall.

     In southern Indiana, Leadership Knox County has kicked off the Freedom From Hunger Campaign.

     The project is designed to re-stock empty food pantry shelves to help the hungry.

     The Vincennes Food Pantry is one of 8 pantries in operation in Knox County and all of them have the same summertime blues.

     Vincennes has about enough food on the shelves to last one more day.

     "The summer months hit us harder than any other part of the year, although, this year we've been pretty well hurt, you know, a lot of demands," said Vincennes Food Pantry Co-President Loretta Roales.

     The problem has become so acute that Leadership Knox County launched the Freedom From Hunger Project.

     The first step was to put drop-off boxes in 20 locations where people can make donations.

     "We saw a need, especially during the summer months, when children are no longer at school and they have that extra mouth to feed at lunchtime and we thought that was the natural thing for us to do," said Brad Dillon with Leadership Knox County.

     The drop boxes are just one part of the Freedom From Hunger Project.

  Organizers say they also have several special events planned.

 During the 4th of July they will have collection points all along the annual parade route in Vincennes and one large central collection point at the Riverfront Pavilion.

     "You'll see us out there and you'll see us spreading the word and spreading the message and this is not a one time event," said Dillon.  "Even though we are calling it a campaign, this is something we all need to be cognizant of."

     Because this campaign is about more than stocking the pantry shelves, it is about feeding the hungry.

     "That's the most important part is to help those greatly in need of it all," said Roales.

     To find out more about the Freedom From Hunger campaign, including sites where donations can be made, and a list of food pantries that will benefit from the project, you can click on this link .