Summer time means no more pencils, no more books, and no more teachers….well, you know. But it also means no more free and reduced school breakfasts or lunches that over sixty percent of St. Lucie County students receive. Sadly, it’s also the time of year when the shelves of local food pantries are closest to empty all year long. To help ensure that no child goes hungry in St. Lucie County during those lean summer months, the Van Duzer Foundation has teamed up with the St. Lucie County Fire District for the fifth year in a row to coordinate One Day to Give on Wednesday, April 29th. Together, they want to know, “What’s in your bag?”
The premise is simple. Please check your home cupboards for canned foods, non-perishable items, peanut butter, dried beans and rice, cereals, canned tuna, and powdered milk. If you’ve got an extra can or two, please consider dropping it off at your nearest St. Lucie County Fire Station. If you’re at the grocery store, take advantage of that Buy One, Get One (BOGO) sale and pick up one for you and one to share with a family that will be struggling this summer.
On April 29th, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., fire engines and emergency vehicles from each of St. Lucie Fire District’s seventeen stations will be making one extra call. They’ll be stopping by the Van Duzer Foundation’s headquarters at Big Apple Pizza and Pasta in Fort Pierce across from Indian River State College to drop off hope in the form of collected food items. Volunteers and staff from Mustard Seed Ministries Ministries, which has been serving the community for 28 years, will be on hand to help weigh, count, and inventory the donations from each fire station, and children and families in the community will benefit because the shelves of the emergency food pantry at Mustard Seed Ministries will be restocked by you – the community, and the heroes who put their lives on the line for us every day.
If your church, club, business (large or small), or organization wants to get in on the community spirit of One Day to Give, please call Mustard Seed Ministries today at 772-465-6021 to arrange for collection bags or boxes to be dropped to your door. Then, all you have to do is start collecting, enjoy that BOGO, and experience what it feels like to help make a better, stronger community. So, what’s in your bag, anyway?