UPDATE: Loveland Schools reports that students and staff donated more than 6,000 food items.
Loveland, Ohio – I met Nancy Grant at the corner of Lebanon Road and Durango Drive right across from the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church this morning where she was directing traffic for the 22nd Annual Pass it On Food Drive. Hundreds of Loveland Intermediate School and Loveland Middle School students were carrying food to the church that they donated to the LIFE Food Pantry. The food will be packaged into Thanksgiving baskets for local residents and clients of the pantry.
The children walked about 3/4 mile to hand deliver the food.
The food drive was started by Nancy Grant to heal wounds after the terrorist attack on 9/11. The purpose is so that clients of the LIFE Food Pantry and other residents in the community can eat well at Thanksgiving and later in December.
Grant said twenty-two years ago, “Well, we can’t change the world, but we can change our little corner of it.” She had this idea to line up the kids down the street and pass the food donations one bag and box, hand-to-hand at a time to one another until it reached the church. A pay it forward so children could feel good about themselves. She thought it worked after 9/11 and has ever since. The students didn’t exactly “pass-it-on” to one another like they used to, but each carried their own donations to the church.
After the donations arrive, adult volunteers will sort, date-check, organize, and assemble a Thanksgiving meal box to go out to area families. The huge effort is to ensure that all our Loveland families and singles will have the items they need so they can sit down together and enjoy a traditional meal for the holiday.
