The Stroud Fire Department and a brigade of teen volunteers set out on Nov. 4 to collect non-perishable food items for their annual canned food drive. This year, they collected a total of 1,658 pounds of food and 31.8 pounds of non-food items, according to the Stroud Food Pantry.
The department has been doing the drive for around 15 years, said Fire Chief Chris Wilson, though he wasn’t sure just how long. He added that on average, they get about 30 volunteers helping out each year.
The teens split up into groups of five to six and loaded up onto fire trucks and other vehicles. They then set out to crawl through neighborhoods to collect canned food and other items from porch fronts.
The teens were then treated to pizza after unloading the food items and helping to sort them.
The food drive is not the only event the fire department has planned to help families in need this month. Last year, the department provided families with a homecooked Thanksgiving meal, having just over 100 people sign up. They ended up feeding over 200.
“The meals were prepared by the Stroud Fire Department members and their families, as well as other grateful members of the community that wanted to help contribute to this cause,” Wilson said. “We couldn’t be more proud of the support we’ve received.”
The department intends to do the same event this year and is currently asking people who would benefit from this to private message the fire department on Facebook so they can know how many to anticipate cooking for. They ask that people only request what is needed so they can provide as many meals to as many people as possible. It is being offered at no cost.
The meal is possible through private donations.Anyone who would like to make one can also private message the fire department. It will take place on Nov. 25 at 6 p.m., though the location hasn’t been set yet. It’ll be announced on the department’s Facebook page.