Second Harvest seeks donations for ’12 Days of Giving’ food drive

By Kendra Simpson

Second Harvest Community Food Bank kicked off the “12 Days of Giving” food drive for campus cupboards across St. Joseph.

The food drive goes until Dec. 31 and is asking for donations of 12 food items, including bagged rice, canned beans, soup, canned fruit and vegetables, granola bars, mac ‘n’ cheese, peanut butter, jelly, pasta, pasta sauce, canned tuna, canned chicken, cereal and oatmeal.

These food items will be donated to local campus cupboards to provide for students and their families who face food insecurity.

While the holiday season is recognized as a time for giving, that philanthropical nature tends to slow down after the New Year.

“A lot of times after the holiday season, our donations get a little low because our food drives, most of them happen in the warmer season from like May until October,” said Mackenzie Osborn, Second Harvest communications coordinator. “And so after that, we kind of start to run low, and so we try to get a lot in December. That way we can fill these campus cupboards for the rest of the semester.”

Organizations or individuals in the St. Joseph community can help ensure everyone is well fed after the holidays by donating to the 12 Days of Giving food drive.

”I think it’s important at this time of year to remember that not everyone is getting to celebrate the way that some of us are,” Osborn said. “It’s important to help wherever we can so that everyone is able to have good holidays.”

Donations for 12 Days of Giving will be accepted at Second Harvest Community Food Bank, 915 Douglas St., until Dec. 31.

To learn how to further help Second Harvest, visit the nonprofit’s website at https://www.shcfb.org/.