Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS) is seeking help from the community to feed hungry children over the holidays with its annual Holiday Food Drive.
Boxes of food will be provided to more than 800 families this year as organizers seek either food or monetary donations to assist families during the upcoming two-week winter break in December.
“Families rely on those school meals for their children when school is in session,” said food drive organizer Kelley Kostamo in a press release. “With schools closed during the break, they lose that support, but we don’t want children going hungry.”
Donations of food can be dropped off between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Westwood Middle School (3215 NW 15th Ave.) or Lincoln Middle School (1001 SE 12th St.) and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Alachua County School District Office (620 E. University Ave.) in Gainesville.
For donations that need to be picked up, contact Kostamo at kostamkb@gm.sbac.edu or call (352) 955-7250, ext. 6411.
The district is collaborating with the non-profit organization Food4Kids, which is helping with the collection, packing and distribution of the food boxes. Local schools, service organizations, businesses, churches and other groups are also participating.
A list of specific food items needed for each box is available on the ACPS website at www.sbac.edu/foodbox. The school district’s goal is to provide all families with similar items, including enough food for regular meals, during the break and a holiday meal.
The school district will also use monetary donations to purchase food. Monetary donations can be made online at The Education Foundation of Alachua County website at https://edfoundationac.org/. Click on the Donate button located on the top right of the homepage and designate ‘Emergency Food/Food Baskets’ on the drop-drown menu.
The deadline for food donations is Saturday, Dec. 14. The deadline for monetary contributions is Tuesday, Dec. 17.