During the months of November and December several Effingham County schools took on the challenge of collecting canned food items for families in need in our community. The results are as follows:
1st place, South Effingham Middle - collected 4,964 items
2nd place, Rincon Elementary - collected 2,860 items
3rd place, Ebenezer Middle - collected 3,509 items
4th place, Marlow Elementary - collected 1,090 items
5th place, Blandford Elementary - collected 773 items
All of the donated food items were divided among the Food OutReach Co-Op of Effingham (FORCE) food pantries. These include God's Mission House, Manna House Ministries, Our Daily Bread Food Pantry and Rincon First Christian Church Pantry.
During 2007 these food pantries provided assistance to 4,127 households in Effingham County. On average, a family of four will receive enough groceries to supplement their food needs for approximately five days.
The value of five days of groceries is close to $85. Without food drives and other generous donations, many babies, children, teenagers, moms and dads, and senior citizens would go without proper nutrition.