COLUMBIA, S. C. (WOLO) — Summer is a welcome break for most students, but for some, their absence from school may mean not having enough to eat.
Two local organisations are committed to ensuring that young people in the Midlands do not go hungry.
The Harvest Hope Food Bank welcomed its first volunteer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina.
Executive Director Erinn Rowe believes summer can be an even more challenging time for families in need, saying, “We feed over 800 kids a week and pack food that we can take to our summer feeding program and get young kids to eat. “Healthy, fun and delicious food this summer.
Four groups of 20 workers took turns receiving boxes, or meal kits, containing five days’ worth of food and snacks for young people in the Midlands.
“Our volunteers are committed to nonprofits across the state. We know that the more we give back, the more we build a better future and a healthier generation. It doesn’t just have an effect on the other people we feed directly. , it also has an effect on our communities, so everyone’s satisfied, it’s hot and they’re sweating, but everyone is satisfied to be here and satisfied to be able to give back,” says Kelsie Crocker of Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Rowe says Harvest Hope is looking for new volunteers. If you or your organization are interested in volunteering, please visit their online page here for more information.
“It’s humbling for me and I love the power I see when other people can touch and smell the food they’re feeding a family. And we have other people all the time saying, “How can I help?How can I give back?’ Each can. . . every fruit, it changes someone’s life,” Rowe says.
The food bank serves 20 counties in South Carolina. Blue Cross reports that its workers volunteered more than 21,000 hours last year at organizations in the network.
“It takes a user to replace a child’s heart, it takes a can to load it into a shopping cart, and we can actually make a big impact as Cruz Azul and as a network to spread and replace lives. “says Crocker.