Shannon LitzVolunteer Jackie Stroud and Marina Hawk of the Food Bank of Northern Nevada unload donations from a car at the Governor’s Mansion on Friday.
An annual food drive at the Governor’s Mansion on Friday drew a steady stream of motorists with donations of food for people in need.“It’s been consistent,” Jenny Yeager of Sparks, agency relations manager for the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, said as contributions were taken and loaded onto a truck for delivery to three client-serving agencies in the capital city.Yeager said last year’s comparable drive brought in 22,000 pounds of food for the agencies, Advocates to End Domestic Violence, Friends In Service Helping (FISH) and the Ron Wood Family Resource Center. Jim Peckham, FISH director, was on hand to help oversee the Carson City aspect of the drive, sponsored in three cities run by the Food Bank of Northern Nevada and Reno television station KTVN (Channel 2). The other donation points were at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno and the Carson Valley Inn in Minden. In Carson City, the donation point was covered by each of the three agencies in the city throughout the day.Peckham said Advocates to End Domestic Violence, directed by Lisa Lee, was on hand from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. to help, FISH took over from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Ron Wood, headed by Joyce Buckingham, was scheduled from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. “Rumor has it that the economy sucks,” Peckham said, adding that his organization’s clientele tends to reinforce that assessment. Yeager echoed him, saying talk of recovery is premature for people in need.“We have not yet seen this improvement in the economy,” she said.Perhaps another sign of the times involved the nature of donations. Though drop-off of food at the mansion was steady, Peckham said there’s also a need for cash to help defray food costs going forward.“I know we got a lot more cash last year,” he said.
