Love (and feed) your neighbor

Businesses, churches and schools will work together for the eighth year to collect nonperishable food items for the Love Your Neighbor food drive this February. 

The annual food drive is sponsored and organized by the Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce to benefit the Trussville Ecumenical Assistive Ministry (TEAM) food bank. 

“Many people think of donating food during the [Thanksgiving and Christmas] holidays, but the need for food for some families in our area is real all year long,” said Diane Poole, TACC executive director. “This food drive creates a huge awareness for TEAM. Many people in our area still don’t know that TEAM exists, but the organization fills a huge need for families who just need a little help.”

The food drive, which expands on the theme of love surrounding Valentine’s Day week, will begin with a drive-through kickoff event in the parking lot of First United Methodist Trussville Feb. 11 from 10 a.m. to noon and continue through the following week. The drive-through event provides community members an opportunity to drive in and drop off their food items without having to get out of the vehicle. The Hewitt-Trussville varsity football team will be collecting items at the drop, as well as others yet to be named.

Last year’s event included NBC 13’s Ken Lass, Fox 6 anchor Janet Hall, San Francisco 49ers lineman Quinton Dial and former University of Alabama football players Bobby Johns and Rudy Griffin.

TEAM will serve nearly 500 families this year, providing food once a month for nine months out of the year. Dennis McMillian, the new TEAM board president, says it is their hope that they can increase that frequency to 12 months a year after recently climbing up from six months. 

“This is our major food drive. We depend on this drive to carry us through the summer with adequate food supplies, and it has managed to do that,” McMillian said. “It’s a beautiful thing because the businesses come together, the churches are together, and the schools are a big part.”

Requested food items for the drive are personal hygiene items, cooking oil, flour, cornmeal, sugar, canned meat and fish, canned fruits and vegetables, dried beans, cereal, breakfast food, peanut butter, jelly, saltines and macaroni and cheese. 

During the week, drop-off boxes will be set up at the Chamber of Commerce (400 Main St.), EW Motion Therapy (183 Main St.), Bryant Bank (137 Main St.) and TEAM (88 Cedar Lane). The eight member churches of TEAM also will be collecting donations and may host additional drop-off events: Clear Branch United Methodist Church, Deerfoot Baptist Church, First Baptist Church Trussville, First Methodist Church of Trussville, Holy Cross Episcopal Church, Faith Lutheran Church, Cahaba Springs Presbyterian Church and Holy Infant of Prague Catholic Church. 

The McSweeney Foundation is also a member of TEAM and donates materials used to collect food during the drive among meeting other needs for the ministry.

For more information about the drive, contact the Chamber of Commerce at 665-7535. To donate or learn more about TEAM, call and leave a message at 661-5039.