Nov 28
Gwinnett residents urged to share gift of food at annual Can-A-Thon
By: Curt Yeomans
Published: November 23, 2018
Gwinnett County residents are being invited to donate some of their food to help feed the needy during the holidays.
The 36th annual 11 Alive Holiday Can-A-Thon will be held from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 30 at multiple sites, including the Gas South District, which is located at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth. Community members can drop off canned and dry foods that will be collected in bins during the event.
The food will be given to the Salvation Army to fill its pantries around metro Atlanta.
“The goal for 11Alive’s Holiday Can-A-Thon is to stock The Salvation Army food pantries for an entire year,” 11 alive said on its Can-A-Thon website, www.11alive.com/canathon. “Hunger is real and more common in our community than ever. In fact, the more than 230,000 cans we collected during 2017’s Can-A-Thon ran out in May – five months earlier than anticipated.”
Several community groups and businesses, including the Daily Post, often come together to collect food by hosting donation boxes whose contents will be taken to one of the drop off sites on Nov. 30.
Canned foods that will be accepted include vegetables, soups, meats, sauces and fruits, while dry foods that will be accepted include pasta, beans, oatmeal, grits and crackers.
This year, Rotary Clubs in Gwinnett County are using the spirit of friendly competition to collect food among their members.
Officials from the Rotary Club of Duluth announced Rotarians from the various clubs in the county had entered into the friendly competition to see which club could donate the most canned and dry foods for 11 Alive’s Holiday Can-A-Thon. The clubs will be gathering food and then dropping it off and the Can-A-Thon at the Gas South District on Nov. 30.
“As you may know, the staples will stock the Salvation Army’s food pantries in Metro Atlanta and the greater Floyd County area,” Rotary Club of Duluth member Sallie W. Boyles said. “Our goal is to collect enough food to last a full year, so we need the entire community’s involvement.”