CT Shoreline Fire Departments Team Up To Host Food Drive on Saturday, April 27

OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. - April 5, 2019 - PRLog -- For the eighth year in a row, Connecticut shoreline fire departments will host a one-day food drive on Saturday, April 27th, 2019, to collect non-perishable food for shoreline residents in need.

The local fire stations will be open to receive donations of non-perishable food on Saturday, April 27, 2019, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. All donations will go to local food pantries run by The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries (SSKP). This year's annual food drive will feature NEWS8 WTNH as a new media sponsor and also marks the 30th anniversary of the Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries

The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries, which is proudly celebrating its three decades of service since it opened its doors to those in need in 1989, hopes to include all fire departments in the 11 shoreline towns they serve. Fire departments already committed to the event to receive donations at their stations include: the Old Saybrook Fire Department, 310 Main Street and also OSFD food drop-offs at the Stop & Shop in Old Saybrook and the Big Y in Old Saybrook; Westbrook Fire Department, 15 South Main Street; Essex Fire Department, 11 Saybrook Road & Colonial Market; Clinton Fire Department, 35 East Main Street and Stop & Shop, Clinton; North Madison Fire Department & Robert's Food Market, 864 Opening Hill Road; Chester Fire Department, 6 High Street; the Deep River Fire Department, 58 Union Street.

Several other fire departments are expected to participate, as well. Watch for announcements on the Shoreline Soup Kitchens' website at www.shorelinesoupkitchens.org. All area fire departments are encouraged to participate. In addition, the Essex Savings Bank on Main Street in Old Saybrook is joining the food drive this year and is accepting food during regular business hours until Noon on Saturday, April 27th.

At a time of year when food donations are low, this food drive will help to restock the pantries and ensure that everyone in our local communities will have a place at the table. The Soup Kitchens' five pantries distributed over 1 million pounds of food last year to needy residents. Only 40 percent of this food comes from the Connecticut Food Bank; the remainder must be either purchased or donated, so every item is appreciated. Last year's Shoreline Food Drive brought in almost 4,000 pounds of food and more than $700 in donations. This year's Shoreline Food Drive's goal is 6,000 pounds of non-perishable food to help those in need.

Please join the effort by donating food, or by holding a food drive in your neighborhood, workplace, or club, and then bringing it to a participating shoreline firehouse on Saturday, April 27, 2019. Participating fire departments ask those donating food to only drop off food on Saturday, April 27, 2019. Please do not drop off food before that date.

The most needed food items are: canned tuna, soup, fruits, juice and vegetables; peanut butter & jelly; pasta & sauce and rice; breakfast cereal and oatmeal.  This year for your convenience, checks made payable to SSKP (with "FD Drive" in the memo field) can be dropped off, as well, on April 27.

Those items not accepted for the food drive include: rusty or unlabeled cans; perishable items; homemade items; non-commercial packaged or canned items; alcoholic beverages and mixes; and any open or used items.

This year's food drive will feature local TV and radio personalities, including Gil Simmons, Chief Meteorologist for NEWS 8 WTNH, and talk-show host Lee Elci, the morning personality on his popular Lee Elci Show on 94.9FM News Now-Stimulating Talk. Both Simmons and Elci will be joining firefighters and volunteers on Saturday morning collecting food items at Old Saybrook Fire Headquarters at 310 Main Street.

The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries, as well as the shoreline fire departments, extend their thanks to Stop & Shop of Old Saybrook, along with Mirsina's Restaurant on Main Street in Old Saybrook, for their generous donations to this year's food drive. In addition to NEWS 8 WTNH as the food drive's newest media partner, other media partners include Shore Publishing/Harbor News and 94.9FM News Now-Stimulating Talk, Soft Rock WBMW 106.5, and Jammin' 107.7 FM. Lee Elci, 949News Now will host a live broadcast from Old Saybrook Fire Department Headquarters at 310 Main Street during this year's annual food drive.