Nov 18, 2003 By Amy Karpinsky 4 min read

As a way to bring awareness to the plight of the scores of homeless and hungry people in Fayette County, a special food drive is being held this week. The drive, which includes a push to fill up a 30-foot bus with donated food, is being held in coordination with the Nov. 17 to 23 designation of National Homeless and Hunger Awareness Week. The designation is made every year one week prior to Thanksgiving.

Jennifer Canada, food bank project manager, said a food drive is ongoing all week, but for a two-day special event, today and Wednesday, a Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation bus will be parked outside the Shop ‘n Save at the Laurel Mall. The bus will be open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and about 12 people will be working to collect donations throughout the two days.

“Our goal is to fill up the bus with food,” Canada said.

“November and December are critical months for the food bank. There are always more people signing up to get food and the demand for food definitely increases as the holidays approach,” Canada said. “This is why we are so thankful for the support of the housing and homeless partnership, Shop N Save and FACT.”

According to 2000 census data, 18 percent of Fayette County’s population of 148,644 lives in poverty. Kary L. Coleman, senior resource consultant for Community Action, said 30 percent of children under the age of 18 in the county live in poverty. Coleman said every month, 5,000 Fayette County residents go hungry and every night in Fayette County, more than 100 individuals are homeless.

Coleman said food drives have been held in the past to create awareness of the problem and they have been successful. She said anyone wishing to donate for the event will be given grocery lists with needed items listed on them. In addition to food, personal hygiene products, baby and adult diapers are needed.

Jill Rush of the Office of Human and Community Services, of which FACT is a department, said it is a “community effort” involving different agencies in the county. Dan Sochko, senior resource consultant for Community Action, explained that the Fayette County Partnership for Housing and Homelessness is made up of agencies that can help with housing and homelessness. The partnership has coordinated local events for the past several years by focusing on increasing awareness of homeless issues. Sochko said this year the focus has shifted to hunger issues.

Coleman said the Fayette County food bank is the lead food provider for people in the county, but operates out of 48 food pantries throughout Fayette County. She said all items collected during the food drive will be distributed throughout the various food pantries in the county. Canada said 3,000 families per month are served through the food bank.

Coleman said last year, 1.8 million pounds of food were distributed through the network and 26,000 individuals were served. She said the partnership is pleased to highlight hunger issues this year.

“Hunger does exist in Fayette County,” she said. “Five thousand individuals each month are going hungry and some don’t want to come forward.”

Canada said turkey vouchers are already being requested this year.

Coleman said a fall food share event was held in October with Giant Eagle and 7,000 pounds of food were collected, filling two UPS trucks. She said they are hoping to mirror that event this week.

Canada said typically the food banks provide a five to seven day supply on a monthly visit. She said non-perishable canned foods such as peanut butter, soups, vegetables, fruit, tuna and even crackers are needed. Also, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, soap and shampoo are needed.

At the grocery store, a watermelon bin will be available and anyone who donates will get an orange ribbon.

“While not as visible as in more urban areas, homelessness continues to be a real problem in many rural areas including Fayette County,” said partnership chairperson Tammy Knouse. “This year, however, we intend to focus on hunger and food insecurity issues that residents of Fayette county struggle with on a daily basis and for that reason we are collaborating with the Fayette county Community Action Agency Food Bank.”