Damages sustained in the Houston area are expected to take months to recover and disaster relief efforts are still in full force. The Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank stepped up to offer support and help coordinate efforts of local community members wanting to help.

Locally, the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, in partnership with Feeding America, the nation's network of 200 food banks across the country, immediately began collecting much-needed items for the affected area, including hand-held snack items, canned ready-to-eat items with pull-tops and cleaning supplies.

In the 8-counties served by the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, local community members collected 22,700 pounds of requested items over the past month. Late last week, the Foodbank loaded a full semitrailer of these donations, which were sent down to aid those impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Organizations who came together to collect large amounts of items specifically for these efforts included Ellet High School, Plain Local Township schools and Greentown and Canton fire departments.

In addition to the semitrailer bound for Houston, the Foodbank sent three truckloads of donations to South Carolina for Hurricane Irma relief, with another load on the way.

“Our friends and neighbors in the community really demonstrated their compassion and support for those affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma,” said Dan Flowers, President & CEO of the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. “Their support, coupled with the power of our national food bank network, continues to amaze me. Feeding America has helped organize and deliver more than 2 million pounds of product to food banks in the affected areas.”

Earlier this spring, your Foodbank worked with a team of experts from the Summit County Emergency Management Agency, American Red Cross, The University of Akron Emergency Management, Oswald Companies, Homeland Security Department, the Ohio Military Reserve and a Feeding America Disaster Capacity Advisor to create an Emergency Preparedness Plan of our own. The 75-page document represents the best practices in the industry, and the Foodbank along with partner disaster-relief organizations, are as prepared as possible to bring food assistance and comfort to people suffering the effects of potential disasters.

If you would like to make a monetary donation towards disaster relief efforts, please visit FeedingAmerica.org.

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