A banner year for SBCO Food Drive

Nancy McCluskey-Moore and Bob Wample

SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) and Tri-Community Food Bank (TFB) are grateful to the SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents who supported this year’s food drive. This year’s effort to fight hunger among residents of Mammoth, San Manuel and Oracle brought in $51,537 in cash donations (a 26 percent increase over last year) and just over 22,000 pounds of food (close to last year’s record). Of that total, SaddleBrooke Ranch residents contributed $19,077 and approximately 2,210 pounds of food. Tremendous support from our communities made this year’s Food Drive such a success.

Cynthia Chevalley, Chairperson of TFB, enthused, “The Board and I are overwhelmed by the response to the SBCO food drive. The food donations and the money raised will help to meet the needs of our clients for five or six months. The generosity of SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents makes a huge difference in the lives of many people, including 700 children and 300 seniors living in our service area. We offer a heartfelt thank you to all who supported this food drive.”

SBCO and TFB are also deeply appreciative of the more than 150 volunteers who made the Food Drive possible. It truly takes a village to publicize the event in each unit, pick up donations, sort the donated food and deliver it to the Food Bank in Mammoth. This year, students from Sycamore Canyon Academy helped unload the delivery trucks.

If you would like to contribute your food, money or time to next year’s SBCO Food Drive, mark your calendar now. The next food drive will be held on March 23, 2019. Volunteers are needed both for the day of the event to help with sorting and packaging, as well as Unit Captains to distribute flyers and pick up donations. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Robert Wample at 559-696-3769 or send an email to [email protected].