We Can Drive Through 2011

Helping the Hungry on Saturday, October 8

11:00 am – 6:00 pm

On Saturday, October 8, from 11 am – 6 pm (rain or shine), Aikido’Ka members will be at the corner of Broad & Union Streets for We Can Drive Through 2011. This will be the 4th Annual Aikido’Ka food drive for the Food Bank.

We Can Drive Through is an amazingly easy and effective way for you to support the Food Bank and our community. Clean out your pantry and drop off your extra non-perishable food items at the corner of Broad and Union Streets in Nevada City. Just pull in on either side of the street, drop off your cash and/or food donations and drive away. We will be there rain or shine. It’s that easy!

In early October, 2007, we learned that the Food Bank was experiencing a tremendous increase in demand and had been running out of food. In fact, the Food Bank inventory was down to one case of cans. When the Food Bank runs out of food, children go hungry.

In emergency response, Aikido’Ka held We Can Drive Through. On October 27, 2007, at the bottom of Broad Street in Nevada City the community raised approximately $2,500 in cash and over 1,600 pounds of non-perishable food.

During We Can Drive Through 2, Aikido’Ka and the community raised over $2,800 in cash and 2,200 pounds of food! And in We Can Drive Through 3, despite terrible economic conditions, the community raised over $2,800 in cash and approximately 1,600 pounds of food!

With We Can Drive Through, Aikido’Ka has raised approximately $8,100 and 5,400 pounds of food for the Food Bank!

The Food Bank does necessary work in our community and needs our support. The Food Bank provides food to senior citizens, single parents, working poor, families and homeless in our county. They are serving more families than ever before, on a budget made up of 80% donations. While our Food Bank is one of the smallest food banks in California, it is one of the few that provides food 7 days a week.

Consider Project H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Eat), for example. In 2005, the Food Bank received a letter from Melissa Fowlkes, a 3rd grade teacher at Hennessy School. Ms. Fowlkes shared that many of her students come to school hungry. Even though the school provided some breakfast and lunches daily, these kids were still hungry. They simply did not get enough food at home and the school was not giving them enough food, either. Teachers throughout our community were buying food for hungry students so that they would at least have nutritious snacks. The Food Bank responded with Project H.O.P.E., providing over 4,000 snacks every week to 15 community schools. The Food Bank continues Project H.O.P.E. through the summer when none of the school food programs operate. “With Project H.O.P.E. and our Nutrition Education program, we try to give out fresh fruits and vegetables to the kids. Project H.O.P.E. has pretty much tripled each new year and this year it is only 1/3 funded,” Cassy Benuzzi of the Food Bank says.

Here is a partial list of the food items that the Food Bank needs (of course, this is not a complete list):

100% Fruit Juice
Canned Fruit
Dried Beans (any type)
Canned Tomato Products
Enriched Rice
Powdered Milk
Canned Fish and Meat
Enriched Pasta
Peanut Butter (plastic containers only)

Additional Child-friendly items:

100% Fruit Rolls
Raisins
Graham Crackers
Unsweetened Applesauce
Cheese and Crackers
Fruit Cups
Raisins
Pretzels
Trail Mix, Granola, Nuts
String Cheese
Dried Fruit

Please help us make this the most successful We Can Drive Through that we’ve had!

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact us by email or call Frank Bloksberg Sensei at (530) 273-2727.

Photos from We Can Drive Through 2011:

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Photos from We Can Drive Through 3:

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