About 250 to 300 families in Eau Claire and the surrounding area won’t be hungry in late November, thanks to the donation the University Bookstore plans to make. St. Francis Food Pantry, 1221 Truax., will receive food from the Nov. 15 to Nov. 19 drive.
According to a News Bureau release, students donating canned items will receive discounts on books and merchandise. The discount is 10 percent off one trade book, 20 percent off two trade books or 30 percent off any item in the store in exchange for the donation of one, two or three canned items, respectively.
| “We always are very appreciative of community support.” –Michelle Gribble Executive director |
Michelle Gribble, the pantry’s executive director, said each week it distributes 13,000 pounds of food – boxes of dairy items, dry food, fresh fruits and vegetables and frozen meats.
“As a result, we always are very appreciative of community support, because we have many families that we do serve,” she said.
Support, she said, comes from churches, local businesses and schools, among others.
Chris Chasteen, cash room supervisor in the bookstore, said the pantry was very helpful and friendly when contacted, and the bookstore plans to donate to it for a variety of reasons.
These reasons include helping the pantry and those “financially less off,” and emphasizing the bookstore is a presence in the community and not just in Davies Center. The approaching Thanksgiving season also is a motivating factor.
Gribble said, though, there is not much of a fluctuation in the number of items distributed throughout seasons.
She said other items the pantry provides, on a small scale, are school supplies, free clothing and Christmas gifts.
Some of the gifts, Gribble said, are shipped by trailer from New York, as one of the pantry’s co-founders wrote “The Today Show” three years ago asking if it would be a candidate to receive toys.
“We have been on their list ever since,” she said, adding the pantry receives an overflow of toys, such as Barbie dolls.
She said it has so many dolls that it probably will be able to distribute them to every young girl again this Christmas.
| University Bookstore Food Drive Date: Nov. 15 to Nov. 19 Place: Davies Center |
There’s always a need for donating, Gribble said.
She added the number of those utilizing the pantry increases four times a year, and the need for donations continues to grow.
Students will find a box in the bookstore where they can put food, Chasteen said.
