By JOSEPH KELLARD
"We filled five pallets with food, which comes out to a quarter of a tractor trailer," said Rotary President Elliot Leibner. "We usually fill about three pallets over the two days. If we get this kind of contribution again during our drive on January 12 and 13, we're going to have enough for 70 families. I've never seen results like this in 15 years."
Echoing these sentiments was Stu Gubenko, the food drive's director. "If we do the same thing in January, it's very conceivable we can feed 60 or 70 families, depending on need," he said. "The outpouring of assistance in the community was by and large unbelievable. We thank the community immensely."
Most of the club's members and its entire Interact group traded off shifts between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday as they collected donations of non-perishable food such as canned goods, pastas, cereals, flour and sugar. Also assisting the Rotary's drive was the unseasonably warm weather. Usually, the food collectors have to spend their shifts in the cold, drinking hot chocolate or coffee donated by local business that support the drive.
Originally, Leibner anticipated feeding approximately 50 families during the month of February, when the donated food is distributed to them. But Gubenko anticipated greater need among families this year, in part, because of an economy that has been less vibrant than in recent years.
"We're hoping that people will come out in the same manner in January and help us once again, so that we can generate enough food to target those who can really use it," Gubenko said.
