Donation programs abound to help feed the needy

As local relief organizations and food pantries struggle to meet the increased need for food and other necessities for families dealing with extreme financial emergencies, local groups are joining forces to help meet this ongoing demand.

With the holiday season approaching, local businesses, civic groups and other agencies continue holding an assortment of events to collect food, money and other staples over the next few weeks.

The following are some of the many businesses and organizations in the local area providing help during the holiday seasons.

* El-Ada Community Action Agency, 585 North 3rd East Street. People may drop off donations of non-perishable food and other items to El-Ada's office in the Stardust Plaza from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

* Grace Lutheran Food Pantry, 2422 American Legion Boulevard. To schedule a time to drop off non-perishable food donations at the local pantry, call Tina Ruberry at 587-2602.

* Our Lady of Good Counsel, 115 N. 4th East St. The church maintains a food pantry throughout the year. For details, call 587-3046.

* University of Idaho and Elmore County 4-H. The county 4-H organization continues to collect non-perishable food until Dec. 31 to benefit El-Ada. People may drop off food at the Elmore County Courthouse in Mountain Home or at Snake River Rubbish in Glenns Ferry.

* First Student, 1375 Airbase Road. The local bus company hosts a "Stuff the Bus" food drives from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Albertsons and the Grace Lutheran Food Pantry. Donations collected during both events will benefit El-Ada, the Grace Luthern pantry and other local food banks in need of non-perishable food.

* Sears, 1535 American Legion Boulevard. The store is one of 950 hometown Sears retailers accepting food through Dec. 31 as part of its fifth annual feed-the-hungry campaign. In addition to canned and boxed non-perishable food items, the store also accepts other needed products, including diapers, paper towels and handy wipes during regular business hours. Sears will also accept winter items like coats, mittens and scarves to benefit El-Ada.

* Albertson's, 528 North Main Street. The local supermarket joined other stores in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming to sell coupons as part of its "Giving Thanks" promotion. Sold in $1, $5 or $10 denominations, money raised locally this year will benefit the local El-Ada organization to help buy holiday meals to financially strapped families in the Mountain Home area.

* Paul's Market, 215 East Jackson Street. The grocery store serves as a drop-off point to allow people to contribute to food drives hosted by local area Scouting organizations. This includes a new drive to collect medical supplies to build first aid kits as part of an Eagle Scout project. A separate effort by another local group continues to accept donations of clothing along with personal care and bed and bath items.

* Wal-Mart, 2745 American Legion Boulevard. After finishing its annual food drive last month, the local retailer started a second drive last week for the Grace Lutheran Food Pantry. The department store will accept non-perishable food through Dec. 15. In addition, store employees will donate their time at food banks in Mountain Home later this month.

* Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Each of the eight wards and two branches in the local community will collect non-perishable food items over the next three weeks during their scheduled Christmas socials. Food collected during these efforts will benefit El-Ada in Mountain Home.

* East Elementary School, 775 North 10th East Street. In conjunction with Hacker Middle School, East Elementary holds its "Feed the Need" drive this month. People may drop off non-perishable food at the school or give them to students to bring in.

* North Elementary School, 290 East 12th North Street. The school continues to accept additional donations of non-perishable goods from parents and students.

* West Elementary, 415 W. 2nd North St., will hold a canned food drive through Dec. 22. The food collected will be turned over the El-Ada Community Action Agency.

* Hacker Middle School, 550 East Jackson Street. The school's team building class continues its annual food drive through Dec. 15. People may bring in non-perishable items to the school or give them to students to bring in. The class will also accept dog food and other pet-related items during this month's drive.

* Mountain Home Junior High School, 1600 East 6th Street South. The junior high school's leadership class hosts a food drive through Dec. 17. Students will also accept donations of winter-related items, like mittens, hats and gloves.

* Mountain Home High School, 300 South 11th East Street. Students at the local high school collected a truck load of food during a drive that ended Nov. 23. The non-perishable supplies benefited local food banks.

* Big Smoke, 305 American Legion Boulevard. The local business holds a raffle through Dec. 19 for a Budweiser barbecue grill. For raffle tickets, people must drop off at least one non-perishable food item. Those who provide a frozen turkey receive five tickets. Food collected during this effort will benefit El-Ada.

* Curves, 356 North 2nd East Street. The local fitness center continues to accept turkeys as well as non-perishable food items to benefit the Grace Lutheran Food Pantry in Mountain Home. Curves will also accept pet food donations for the Mountain Home Senior Center, which it will hand out to senior citizens with pets.

* Anytime Fitness, 2600 American Legion Boulevard. The fitness club accepts donations of non-perishable items from 10 to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 to 2 p.m. Saturdays. The club expects to continue its food drive into January.