When Arnold Food Pantry representatives arrived at the Arnold Recreation Center on Nov. 7, they found tables heaped with canned goods awaiting pickup.
Ed Fitzhenry, the pantry’s executive director, and the van driver had to make two trips to load up all the food the Arnold Parks and Recreation Department collected during its participation in the first-ever Feed the Masses food drive.
Arnold collected 6,814 food items for the Arnold Food Pantry, beating the 17 other cities that participated in the drive, Arnold recreation supervisor Ajsa Hukic said.
Combined, the 18 cities collected 34,579 items for pantries around the St. Louis area, she said.
Hukic said she was astounded to see Arnold named the Feed the Masses champion.
“It was just an exciting feeling because it just means that so many people came together knowing that all these people need help,” she said.
Hukic said she had hoped the drive would bring in at least 3,000 items since the parks department had to cancel its annual Turkey Trot run and walk, which typically brings in about 1,500 food items for the Arnold Food Pantry.
Fitzhenry said he also was “gratefully surprised” by the number of donations the drive brought in, adding that the generosity of the Arnold community never ceases to amaze him.
Because of food drives like Feed the Masses and individual donations, Fitzhenry said the Food Pantry is stocked up like it normally is this time of year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced the pantry to cancel fundraisers.
“(Donations) go to ensure that those 10,000 to 12,000 people (the food pantry served) in 2020 are going to get food, and a substantial amount of food,” Fitzhenry said.
Hukic said the city could not have collected as many items as it did without the help of the Arnold License Office – operated by the Arnold Jaycees. Overall, they matched 3,407 items.
“I feel like that partnership we have is awesome,” Hukic said. “Because if you just think about it, I feel like we were just able to help so many more people.”
Lori Crutchley, contract manager for the Arnold License Office, said she was impressed by the work Hukic and other Parks and Recreation Department staff put into getting out the word about for the food drive.
Crutchley said the fact the city won the Feed the Masses contest was particularly impressive considering Arnold competed against larger cities.
She also said she hopes the food drive becomes a yearly event.
“In a normal year, I can’t even imagine the amount of donations they would have gotten. Yeah, so we would like to do it again with them next year,” Crutchley said. “We partner a lot with the city of Arnold on things and it is just, you know, a real good fit for us because, you know, we are the Arnold Jaycees. We’ve been around this town since the 70s and it’s just kind of part of our mission to give back within our community.”
Hukic also hopes to take part in the food drive again and add more drop-off locations so more people can participate.
She said she wanted to thank all those from Arnold and the surrounding area who donated to this year’s drive.
“If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think we would have obviously ever won, and it’s not just about the winning portion,” she said. “I just think it’s great that we are able to give back.”
Fitzhenry said the pantry always needs donations of food and cash, but with the holiday season here, it’s more important than ever, especially since he does not see the pantry holding fundraisers until June 2021.
He said he hopes people will keep the pantry in mind after the holiday season, too.
“Everybody wants to make sure that everybody has a wonderful Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, and we really appreciate that, but we also notice that come January and February there is a drop off in food donations,” Fitzhenry said. “I want to remind people that, you know, our clients need food every day of the week, whether it is coming up to Thanksgiving or Christmas.”