Press releases

Girl Scouts hold food drive
for House of Hope on Oct. 8

PRESS RELEASE DATE: SEPT. 26, 2011

Girl Scouts in Martin County will be holding a major food drive on Oct. 8, moving this annual event to the autumn to fill in a gap before holiday food drives begin.

The Girl Scouts’ food drive is in its 17th year and has traditionally been held in the late spring to help stock the House of Hope food pantry for the great number of people affected by seasonal layoffs or cutbacks during the summer.

However, with grocery stores, schools and the National Association of Letter Carriers now holding major springtime food drives, the big dip in food supplies comes later. The shelves at House of Hope food pantries are getting bare now – in late summer/early fall, before many area food drives begin in preparation for Thanksgiving.

On Oct. 1, Girl Scouts will distribute 8,000 door hangers throughout Martin County, asking people to leave bags of nonperishable food on their doorsteps for pick-up on Oct. 8. The Girl Scouts will gather the food and deliver it to House of Hope.

The types of food items needed include canned tomato products, fruit, vegetables, soup, beans, canned or powdered milk, canned meat and fish, cereal, rice and pasta.

The drive is supported by the 800 Girl Scouts in Martin County, troop leaders and parents. Patrick Exterminating, The Day Agency, the Print Shop of Hope Sound and an Angel Fund are the financial sponsors.

If you cannot provide food but can help financially, please contribute by sending a check to House of Hope (with a memo indicating Girl Scouts Food Drive), 2484 SE Bonita St., Stuart, FL  34997.

The Girl Scouts are asking that gated communities take part bringing donations to House of Hope on behalf of the drive.

The main House of Hope location – at the corner of Dixie Highway (A1A) and Bonita Street in Stuart – will be open 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Oct. 8. Normal hours at the Stuart location are 9 a.m.to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Branch locations in Hobe Sound, Indiantown and Jensen Beach are open Tuesday-Saturday.

House of Hope is the largest provider of food to the hungry in Martin County. In 2010 the agency gave out more than 152 tons of food, the equivalent of about 237,000 meals.

For more information about House of Hope, call (772) 286-4673, or visit www.hohmartin.org. For more information about the food drive, contact Debbie Geiger at (772) 215-1677.