The Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg is kicking off the 3rd Annual Kiwanis Ultimate Food Drive and has made marketing and publicity a priority as a means to raise awareness for the substantial need for food in the area.
The club started the food drive in May of 2011 because most food drives take place around the winter holidays, but because public school students enrolled in free or reduced lunch at school will not receive those meals throughout the summer. According to the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools, nearly 30% of students are enrolled in the program. A WJCC program by the name of Title 1 assisted nearly 500 students, who were in need food and clothing, in the first semester of this school year. The most recent statistics from Feeding America suggest that over 18% of the population in the City of Williamsburg is food insecure, meaning they do not know where their next meal will come from.
While the Kiwanis effort has collected around 6,000 items in the past 2 years combined, they admit that it’s still not enough. “We hope collect 10,000 items this year by raising awareness and getting more clubs involved, but we really need more people to be aware of the issue that our community faces so we can get more support,” said Will Melton, a Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg board member who is helping to organize the food drive. “For the first year, we’ve gotten Key Clubs from Lafayette High School, Warhill High School and Walsingham Academy to help out, as well as the CKI Club at William & Mary.
A video on the website for the food drive shows Kiwanis members and representatives from FISH, Grove Christian Outreach and Title 1 reciting statistics about the problem in Williamsburg. “Over 2,000 James City County residents sought help for food in 2012,” is the opening line recited by Nathan Hill, the President Elect of the Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg. “We’re doing something to help,” he says later in the video, referring to the effort the club is organizing.
In addition to the website and the video on YouTube, the club has started a Kiwanis Ultimate Food Drive page on Facebook and an account on Twitter to try and get the word out about their project. The main part of the food drive starts on May 11, when members of the clubs will distribute empty paper bags that have been donated by are grocery stores to homes around Williamsburg. The bags will have information about the food drive stapled to them and will be picked up on May 18, giving residents a week to gather items for the food drive.
Area businesses have sponsored the food drive to help support marketing and awareness initiatives. Money raised is being used to promote the video locally on YouTube and Facebook with what little is left over covering minor expenses such as fuel to transport the food. Video services, website development services and printing were all donated by area companies looking to help.
“We’re grateful for all of the help we have gotten and for all of the help we will get, but we hope more people can learn about what we’re doing,” said Melton. “A teacher who came to our most recent organizational meeting told stories about students she’s given food to from her own pantry and other kids who are living in cars in the area. The problem is real and it’s not small,” he goes on, “Last year, the pantry at FISH had a couple of dozen cans of food on hand when we dropped off our donation.”
You can learn more about the Kiwanis Ultimate Food Drive by visiting their website at www.kiwanisultimatefooddrive.org. You can view the video, see information about sponsors and partners and sign up to volunteer on the site. Currently they are seeking volunteers who are willing to distribute bags and collect food in their neighborhood or help out others who have signed up to do the same. As the club plans next year’s food drive, they will continue to post information to the site and have pledged to continue to raise awareness for those who are hungry in Williamsburg.
