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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 28, 2004 ACCESS falls short of food goal By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune ACCESS Inc., a charity that helps distribute emergency food boxes, hopes donations will continue to roll in this week to stock shelves for the year ahead. This is the 21st year for ACCESS’s "Food for Hope" drive, which kicked off Nov. 29. The agency hopes to collect 25,000 pounds of food and $25,000 in donations, but was about 8,000 pounds and $13,000 short of that goal at the most recent tally on Friday. Holiday generosity provides much of the goods the agency distributes in emergency food boxes throughout the year, Food Share coordinator Vicki Penny said. Donations made now will help keep the cupboards from going bare until the next big food drive organized by postal workers in May. "Those are our two big drives," she said. "We couldn’t do it without them." Schools, small businesses, fire stations, churches and other groups and individuals donate nonperishable foods and money. Every dollar donated enables ACCESS to buy the equivalent of six meals, the agency reports. Advertisement Although some locations ended their "Food for Hope" gathering on Christmas Eve, others will continue until New Year’s Day, Penny said. A final tally of donations collected at various sites won’t be done until mid-January, she estimated. A truckload of food collected at the holiday light display on Greystone Court in Medford over the holiday weekend arrived Monday, but workers hadn’t had time to unload it and add it to the drive’s total, she said. Other donations also are expected to trickle in this week, pushing the drive closer to its goal. Last year’s holiday food drive shot for 25,000 pounds of food and $25,000 in donations. It collected 20,000 pounds of food and nearly $17,000 in contributions. Throughout the year, ACCESS provides more than 1.9 million pounds of food, in more than 32,000 food boxes, to 18 food pantries. "It used to be that pantries and even food stamps were emergency things, but now it is a monthly thing for some people," Penny said. "We see a steady stream of working poor." Canned goods and other nonperishables can be dropped off at fire stations, some churches or the ACCESS office at 3630 Aviation Way, Medford. Financial contributions can be sent to ACCESS Inc., P.O. Box 4666, Medford, OR 97501. Reach reporter Anita Burkeat 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers