Christmas came again for the Food Bank of Barton County on Jan. 10 when Rosewood Services delivered more than 200 food items and representatives donated money raised from last month’s Holiday Cookie Contest.
Rosewood Services employees participated in a food drive just before Christmas, collecting nearly 300 pounds of food for the Food Bank, located at 3007 10th Street, Great Bend. The Holiday Cookie Contest, sponsored by local business and participating shoppers on Nov. 30, raised $340 for the Food Bank.
“These donations come at a good time because of the fact that people have spent for Christmas and now times are really lean for them,” said Food Bank manager Jenny Gordy. “We also have more people who come to us this time of year because their work has been cut in construction and other seasonal jobs.”
January typically is the busiest month of the year for the Food Bank. Last January, the Food Bank served 787 people, said Gordy. For 2013, the Food Bank averaged helping more than 600 people a month.
The Food Bank operates under the auspices of the Barton County Association of Churches and is organized to distribute food to Barton County residents in crisis situations. Gordy said people can utilize the Food Bank up to four times a year, if they qualify. Most of them do not reach that limit, she added. And more than 950 people, who had never used the Food Bank before, needed the service in 2013.