Innes Community Learning Center Fights Hunger in Akron
School Holds Food Drive to Benefit Mature Services’ Food Pantry
Akron, Ohio – October 26, 2016. Students at Innes Community Learning Center in Akron are holding a food drive to collect canned and dry goods. The food drive will continue through November 18, 2016. In the Sixth Grade Drive, food collected by students in four sixth-grade classrooms will be donated to the Food Pantry at Mature Services, Inc., a non-profit senior services organization in Akron.
Innes Community Learning Center enrolls students from sixth to eighth grade. Curriculum emphasizes academic support and enrichment activities for all students. The original school was constructed in 1959 and named in honor of Walter J. Innes, whose life was dedicated to serving his community and country.
Mature Services is a non-profit organization that offers a wide range of services to the senior population in Akron, including the Food Pantry. The number of people coming to the Food Pantry significantly increased in the past year, causing the need for more donations to keep the pantry supplied with sufficient supplies. In 2015, the pantry served 496 clients, compared to a total of 1,240 that have been served up to the current month in 2016.
According to Anne Burris, Assistant Principal at the school, they are holding food drives because of the heavy demand in our communities for help during the holidays. During the event, students will compete against each other to donate the most food. They often earn extra credit for bringing goods, and the winning classroom will be awarded an Ice Cream Sundae Celebration. After learning about the overwhelming increase in Mature Services food applicants, the school decided to distribute canned foods from the drive to the agency’s Food Pantry.
The food drive educates the students not only about hunger in Akron and how to collaborate to solve food problems, but also about their community. Hunger is a community-wide challenge that affects 42.2 million people in the United States. In Ohio, recent studies in 2015 show that more than one in six Ohio residents answered “yes” when asked if they did not have enough money to buy food during the past year. Moreover, Ohio ranked 13th in the country for worst food hardship rates.
If you want to support the students during the drive, members of the public may drop off food supplies and donations at Mature Services Food Pantry, located at 415 South Portage Path, in Akron, Ohio. Contact David Russell, Food Pantry Coordinator, at 330-253-4597 x125, if you have questions or need further information.
Mature Services, Inc. is devoted to improving the lives of adults as they age. Through programs such as the Food Pantry, Employment and Training Solutions, Homecare, and counseling, we provide high quality support services to the senior population in Summit County. For more information about Mature Services, Inc., visit our web page at www.matureservices.org, and follow us on Facebook.