An estimated 900 bags of food were collected by the Yavapai Food Neighbors during its April 9 food collection campaign, said Bret Painter, coordinator and operations manager.
“Every two months, we collect food at our Prescott collection site near Walmart and Burger King on Gail Gardner,” Painter said. “This past food drive, our volunteers collected food at three sites in the Quad City area — Prescott, Chino Valley and Prescott Valley.
“The food was then sorted and distributed to organizations such as the Hungry Kids Project, Mayer School, and food banks in Prescott, Prescott Valley, Yarnell, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and Peeples Valley Elementary School.”
He said the “project has been a godsend to local people in need and to emergency food providers in the area, especially during the pandemic and now, inflation.”
Bob Painter, the group’s project coordinator and Bert’s father, said that since 2014, volunteers have been collecting food to be shared with those who have need; nearly a million pounds of nonperishable food have been donated over the years.
From its small beginning with six neighborhood coordinators, Yavapai Food Neighbors now has grown to 75 coordinators and more than 1,400 regular neighborhood donors.
Food drives are scheduled for Aug. 13, Oct. 8 and Dec. 10. For more information, go to www.yavapaifoodneighbors.com.
Photo by Ray Newton
