The Tyrone Area Food Bank, which helps families in the Tyrone Area and Bellwood-Antis School Districts, is seeing an unprecedented increase in clients and is in need of help from the community.
“We’ve had a spike in households that visit our food bank,” said Tyrone Food Bank Board of Directors Member Peter Gardella. “We usually get 27 to 30 households [per week], but for the past 6-8 weeks we’ve been getting 51 households. These are the highest numbers we have seen since I have been involved with the food bank.”
During the first quarter of 2023, the food bank helped 317 households with 424 adults, 249 children, and 150 seniors.
To help fulfill the increased need, the Eagle Eye will sponsor a food drive in the Tyrone Middle and High School from November 28 to December 15.
Donations will be collected in homeroom classrooms.
The homeroom in the Middle and High School with the most donations will get a catered breakfast treat courtesy of the Eagle Eye.
Cash donations are also needed and can be made in the Middle or High School Main Office.
The idea for the food drive came from the fifth-period Eagle Eye class and is being organized by Eagle Eye staffers Nicole Ramsey, Sidney Goodwin, Abby Anthony, and Alyssa Houck.
“The food bank is going through a rough time and since it’s the holidays we want to give back and help them,” said Goodwin.
The Food Bank will accept any unexpired non-perishable food items, but the items most in need are breakfast cereal and canned soup.
Below is a partial list of items that the Tyrone Area Food Bank can accept:
- Canned soup
- Chicken noodle soup
- Cream of mushroom soup
- Tomato, vegetable & other canned soup
- Breakfast cereal
- Canned pasta (ravioli, spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna)
- Peanut butter
- Jelly
- Noodles
- Macaroni & cheese
- Hamburger Helper
- Spaghetti and dried pasta
- Spaghetti sauce
- Tuna
- Canned chicken
- Canned fruit
- Baked beans
- Canned vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, beans, peas, green beans, corn)
- Cake mixes
- Brownie mixes
- Toilet paper
The Tyrone Food Bank is located at the Westley United Methodist Church next to Ace Hardware in Tyrone.
The Food Bank is open every Thursday from 9 am to 10:30 am and they have evening hours on the second Thursday of each month from 5:30 – 7 pm.
