Shoppers help out at Fight Hunger food drive

Although the Opelika-Auburn News Fight Hunger food drive was a little slower than last year, there was a steady stream of shoppers donating non-perishable food items to the cause at the Opelika Walmart on Saturday.

Martha Henk, director of the Food Bank of East Alabama, said she was especially excited about stocking up on peanut butter because it is filling and full of protein.
“We got a whole bunch of peanut butter,” she said.

She said the Fight Hunger food drive, now in its second year, is convenient because shoppers can pop into Walmart with a provided shopping list and pick up the items.
“It’s just a matter of picking up a few extra canned goods,” she said.

Cathy McCullars, the Good Works coordinator at the Opelika Walmart, came up with the idea when she saw a similar food drive in
Montgomery.

“It was wonderful last year and it’s going to be pretty good today,” she said. “And people can always donate at the food bank.”

McCullars said she knows the recession makes it harder for people to donate, since they have less themselves.

“This year it’s hard on a lot of people because the economy is down,” she said. “We have more people needing help.”

The food collected Saturday will go toward the pound total for the Beat Bama Food Drive, the annual competition between Auburn University and the University of Alabama.
Last year, the Fight Hunger food drive collected more than 9,000 pounds of food.