Rotary Christmas Food Basket Program Underway

OMS Student Council members help unload tons of food to help fill Rotary Christmas Baskets. (file photo)

The Oskaloosa Rotary Club is gearing up their efforts to make sure that needy families in Mahaska County are able to have a traditional Christmas dinner.

Last year the Christmas Food Basket program distributed 641 baskets which provided all the makings of a holiday dinner (plus more items), impacting nearly 1,900 county residents.

The food baskets contain enough groceries for a traditional Christmas dinner. There are items such as ham, fresh produce, canned food, bread, to name a few. Fund-raising is underway to purchase food for the baskets.

“We try to raise about $20,000 a year,” said Andy Glover of the Oskaloosa Rotary Club, who chairs the committee to organize the food drive.

“This year, we think it’s going to be a little more than that,” he said. “The program seems to grow each year.” Glover said.

Donations are welcome, and contributions may be sent to Oskaloosa Rotary, P. O. Box 222, Oskaloosa, IA 52577. Checks should be made payable to District 6000 HEF, which is the tax-exempt Humanitarian and Educational Fund for Oskaloosa Rotary’s statewide parent organization.

Information and applications for the food basket program are provided courtesy of the Oskaloosa Herald and the Shopper. The deadline to apply is Nov. 25.

The food baskets will be assembled on Friday, Dec. 11, at Central United Methodist Church and distributed at 8 a.m. on Dec. 12 at the church.

Many people lend a hand to make the food basket program happen. “It’s a huge volunteer effort — lots of groups and individuals help,” Glover said.

For more information on the Christmas Food Basket please contact Andy Glover at aglover@barnhouse.com.