HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah — It’s your last chance to get involved with the 2018 ‘Feds Feed Families’ campaign as it comes to a close Oct. 18.
Since August, the Hill Commissary has served as a common collection point for the Feds Feed Families, which serves to collect food items that are then donated to area food banks.
Bruno Ortiz, Hill Commissary manager, said the success of the campaign depends on the generosity of the store’s customers. As of Oct. 8, Hill customers had purchased 245 bags of groceries for an average cost of $10 per bag.
“This isn’t bad, but we still have 10 more days to sell even more,” Ortiz said. “Let’s shoot for the stars!”
In 2017, Hill customers purchased nearly 500 bags when the campaign ended.
The most-needed grocery items this year includes:
• Canned vegetables – low sodium, no salt
• Canned fruits – in light syrup or its own juices
• Canned proteins – tuna, salmon, chicken, peanut butter and beans
• Soups – beef stew, chili, chicken noodle, turkey or rice
• Condiments – tomato-based sauces, light soy sauce, ketchup, mustard, salad dressing or oils
• Snacks – individually packed snacks, crackers, trail mix, dried fruit, granola and cereal bars, pretzels and sandwich crackers
• Multigrain cereal
• 100 percent juice – all sizes, including juice boxes
• Grains – brown and white rice, oatmeal, bulgar, quinoa, couscous, pasta, and macaroni and cheese
• Paper products and household items – paper towels, napkins and cleaning supplies
• Hygiene items – diapers, deodorants (men and women), feminine products, toilet paper, tissues, soap, toothpaste and shampoo
“(Feds Feed Families) started with the local area food banks just in the D.C. area. It was only for them,” said Randy Eller, chief of the Defense Commissary Agency’s U.S. distribution, equipment, property and recycling division. “The Pentagon and all those people would participate, and they would put out boxes so people would donate. They got us interested, and we took it from the capital area and put it in every commissary we have in the United States.”
For more information on the campaign, go to the United States Department of Agriculture website, www.usda.gov/fedsfeedfamilies.
