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Children from the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Child Care Center kicked off the holiday season Monday with a donation of more than 900 pounds of food to the Food Bank.
About 20 students traveled by bus to the Food Bank offices near 68th and J Streets to make the delivery and take a short tour.
It was a promising kickoff to what Food Bank spokesman Brian Barks describes as “prime time” for donations to the organization.
“There are countless numbers of food drives going on around the community, and starting today is when we start getting hit with most of (the donated food) coming back,” Barks said. “There will be in excess of 100 barrels coming back today, tomorrow and Wednesday.”
Those barrels will be just the beginning of holiday food donations. The sour economy has increased need, but donations have increased as well, according to Barks.
“Our need has gone up approximately 30 percent compared to a year ago, and the amount of donations that we’re receiving is also going up. We’re keeping our head above water, which is incredible.”
Although Barks said it was too early to gauge what holiday demand and response might be, he said the reaction of the Omaha metro community to their neighbors in need has been robust.
“People who do have are not just giving, but they’re giving more.”
The organization is preparing to take advantage of that largesse.
“Last year, total, we had about 944 food drives,” Barks said. “This year, we’re going to have roughly 1,200.”
The Food Bank has also borrowed 125 blue donor barrels to bolster their supply of 600 to help meet the need brought about by more food drives.
Sarah Lane, a preschool teacher at the UNO Child Care Center, said the center’s 60-plus children, ages 18 months to 5 years, collected more than 1,000 food items in about a month.
“One thing that’s important for them to become a part of our community is a sense of belonging, and helping out and taking part,” she said. “They understand that there are other children in the world that aren’t as fortunate as they are, and that they really do need to help out.”
Susan Ogborn, Food Bank president, said such school events can have a big effect on the Food Bank’s fortunes.
“It teaches every one of those little kids how to be philanthropists and how to share what they have with somebody else,” she said. “Every pound of food we collect is a meal for a family.”
Contact the writer:
444-1074, john.keenan@owh.com
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