ROCKVILLE – Staff at the Rockville Correctional Facility (RCF) held their annual food drive benefitting the Parke County Food Pantry.
This food drive is traditionally held in late February to highlight National Canned Food Month, and early March to highlight National Nutrition Month. Staff collected and donated more than 500 items.
Prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Parke County Food Pantry provided goods including nonperishable food stores, hygiene items, household cleaners, paper goods, and baby-care items to an average of 352 households monthly, or roughly 1,000 individual children, women, and men. During the pandemic, the numbers of households in need have risen sharply.
Donations to food pantries provide a key lifeline for those suffering from food insecurity who are attempting the impossible choices between feeding the family, paying the rent, or maintaining utility services.
It is estimated that roughly 35 million people, 13 million of which are children, are suffering from hunger in the United States right now.
The Parke County Food Pantry is located at 1103 S. White Tail Ln, Rockville, IN 47872, and is open to receive donations every Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. Director Connie Norman can be reached by telephone at 765-569-3284.
