MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- A government-wide food drive is currently underway. During the months of June, July and August, the Feds Feed Families Food Drive Campaign calls for all federal employees to serve their communities; any food donation, even a single non-perishable item, is welcome.
Last year, the federal-wide goal was to collect two million pounds of food, of which 1.7 million was collected. The Department of Defense’s goal for 2011 is to collect 733,800 pounds, all of which will be distributed to the local communities.
For the past few years, this event was only available to federal employees in the Washington, D.C., area. Now for the first time, the program included the DOD.
“All the commissaries are participating,” said Michael Dunn, the store director for the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Commissary, Defense Commissary Agency. “Col. Lecce is a big proponent of this and we’ve been working with the Onslow County Soup Kitchen to deliver all of our donations.”
Already, the base commissary has collected more than 1,980 pounds of non-perishable goods including powdered drinks, canned goods and snacks.
Dunn noted that a bulk of the goods are coming from vendors, but that does not mean any service member’s or their family’s contributions mean any less.
“We have two bins located near the exit doors where families can come to drop off their donations,” said Dunn. “We’re taking any non-perishable goods that families and service members donate. Every bit helps toward our goal.”
Every donation received by the MCB Camp Lejeune Commissary will be donated to the Onslow County Soup Kitchen which also takes in donations from the community and churches as well. Now, the soup kitchen can add MCB Camp Lejeune to that list.
The kitchen serves meals to anyone who is in need, along with providing food from their location near the county courthouse. Volunteers also deliver meals to people who are unable to leave their homes.
“This is a great way to increase stewardship among the commissary, base and the community,” said Dunn. “Not only are service members and their families helping their own, they’re also helping those around them too.”