New Year's Neighborhood Food Drive

The demand for food has increased an alarming 40% in the last two months... and this is on top of the increases over the last two years! 

In mid-December, Tammy, the director of the Twin Lakes Food Bank which serves Sacramento, El Dorado and Placer Counties, put out a plea for soup, cereal, ham, and prayers. The food they received from the Kids Can school drives, which normally holds them over until February, was gone, their shelves emptying quickly.

In response, Hands4Hope, with the help of many of our incredible families, threw together a New Years Neighborhood Food Drive to help get food back on the shelves... and WOW!  We made a big difference in a very short time!!

Hands4Hope volunteers passed out grocery bags with a note explaining the needs on doorsteps through out their neighborhoods.  On January 1st and 2nd, they revisited the homes and collected the bags of food filled by their neighbors.

In total, volunteers collected 2,134 pounds of food.  

Enough to feed 215 families!!

{The Twin Lakes Food Bank truck after just one day!}

Tammy from the food bank sent a text message thanking our volunteers... 

"OH MY GOODNESS! That's a whole lot of food!!! It's amazing what kids can do. They are shining examples."

"It was heartwarming to see the generosity of our neighbors and watching my girls pull the overflowing wagon up and down the hill. They were able to be involved from the start to finish of this project and felt very proud. I want my daughters to know that they can make a difference by helping others even at their young ages. We look forward to helping out again soon!" - Megan, mother of H4H volunteers

"I am so glad the food drive was such a success. It is amazing to see how many of our neighbors wanted to help! There are so many great people in the world!" - Jan, mother of H4H volunteers

"I am so proud of all of you! I'm proud of the way you took hold of this last-minute drive with an excitement and eagerness to help those in need and made it a huge success. I'm proud of your willingness to ask your neighbors to support this effort. I'm proud of the way you took time out of your busy holiday schedules to make this happen. It truly makes me beam with pride when I tell people what our young volunteers have accomplished. The power of our youth is endless and spectacular!" 

- Jennifer Bassett, Founder/Executive Director of Hands4Hope

Thank you to our volunteers and community members who helped make a difference!