Dallas School District participants involved in the Friends Feeding Friends program include (seated): Wycallis Principal Tom Traver, Special Education Director Dawn Keifer, Superintendent Frank Galicki, Technology Director Bill Gartrell; (standing) Dallas High School Assistant Principal Brian Bradshaw, Friends Feeding Friends Co-Chairs Barb Roberts and Donna Davies, Dallas Elementary Principal Paul Reinert, Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Mark Kraynack, Dallas Middle School Principal Tom Duffy, and Dallas High School Principal Jeff Shaffer.

The Community Joins Together -- Friends Feeding Friends
In keeping with its “Year of the Volunteer” theme, the 2013 Dallas Harvest Festival announced that it will collaborate with the Dallas School District, and Shavertown and Dallas Thomas’ Family Markets locations to help collect much-needed food items for the Back Mountain Food Pantry through its Friends Feeding Friends Campaign.



Pictured at Thomas' Food Market, in Dallas, are (left to right): Back Mt. Food Pantry President Rev. Roger Griffith, Friends Feeding Friends Co-Chair Barb Roberts, Thomas' Co-Owner Chris Evans, and Manager Larry Seward.

This year’s festivalgoers are also encouraged to bring a non-perishable item with them to drop off at the Friends Feeding Friends booth at the festival on Sunday, September 15^th, noon-5:00 p.m.

Founded in 1977, the Back Mountain Food Pantry serves clients within the Dallas Area and Lake-Lehman school district boundaries. Located in Trucksville United Methodist Church, the pantry has approximately 232 clients, serving an average of 20 prequalified families each week who receive as many as 12 bags of grocery items. In 2012, 2,349 individuals from 854 households were provided for. It is now also supplemented by the new Food Pantry Garden, graciously provided by the Lands at Hillside Farms and maintained by generous volunteers. As a result, fresh vegetables are now available as a seasonal benefit to food pantry clients.

 

“As the need continues to increase every year, so does the community response. None of this would be possible without a community of very caring and generous churches, businesses, civic organizations, individual donations, and many volunteers,” said Back Mountain Food Pantry Board President Rev. Roger Griffith.

 

America has always been known as the land of plenty, but for one in six people in the United States hunger is a reality. Many believe the problems associated with hunger are confined to small pockets of society, certain areas of the country, or specific neighborhoods, but the reality is much different. Right now, millions of Americans are struggling with hunger. They are often hard-working adults, children and seniors who often go without meals, for days on end.
 

For children, good nutrition in the first three years of life is important in establishing a good foundation for future physical and mental, academic achievement, and economic outcome. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 16.7 million children under age 18 in US households are unable to consistently access enough nutritious food necessary for their healthy development.

 

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the number of older adults is projected to increase by 36% over the next decade, and continue to rise in the following decade. By 2030 it is projected that there will be 72.1 million older adults, almost twice as many as in 2008, which will have a profound impact on the demand for social services, especially the need for adequate and culturally appropriate nutrition services. 

 

From Friday, September 6^th through Friday, September 13^th, the Dallas Harvest Festival’s Friends Feeding Friends campaign will invite Back Mountain residents, families and shoppers to donate food items to the Dallas School District Classroom Food Drive or in convenient drop-off receptacles at both Thomas’ Family Markets. The drive will conclude at the Dallas Harvest Festival on Sunday, September 15^th as festival volunteers host the Friends Feeding Friends booth from 12 noon-5 p.m. Festivalgoers can participate by bringing canned or prepackaged (non-fresh) food items to the booth.

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