OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Food prices continue to increase and many people in our community don’t have the means to keep up, but the City of Omaha Parks and Recreation department is doing its part to try to get more food in the hands of people in need.
It is holding its Share the Love food drive. The drive coincides with the week of Valentine’s Day, beginning Monday, February 14th and running through Saturday, February 20th.
Last year was the first time they held the food drive. After seeing the impact that it had they decided to make it an annual drive.
All donations are given to Foodbank for the Heartland.
This year’s drive is bigger and better than last year’s though, as there are ten different drop-off locations rather than the six they had in 2021.
“I think having it at ten of our facilities really involves all of Omaha, rather than just doing collections in West Omaha or South Omaha,” Omaha Parks & Recreation Special Projects Coordinator Sidney Moore said. “With hitting ten of our facilities, we are hitting all of Omaha to really involve everybody.”
In 2021, Food Bank for the Heartland provided more than 37 million meals for those in need across 77 counties in Nebraska and 16 in Western Iowa.
That's 8.9 million more meals provided than in 2020, and the need for food isn’t going down.
“We spoke with the representatives there and they said that need is not decreasing,” Moore said. “So, we wanted to do it more because obviously that need is still there and people are still struggling this far since the beginning of COVID, and it’s still going on, so people still need help.”
They will accept all non-perishable food items but there’s a high demand for peanut butter, canned fruits and vegetables, rice, and canned chicken and tuna.
Below is a list of all the drop-off locations. You will only be able to drop off the items during operating hours only.
Adams Community Center – 3230 John Creighton Blvd.
A.V. Sorensen Community Center – 4808 Cass St.
Camelot Community Center – 9270 Cady Ave.
Common Ground Recreation & Aquatic Center – 1701 Veterans Dr.
Hanscom Indoor Tennis Center – 3220 Ed Creighton Ave.
Mockingbird Hills Community Center – 10242 Mockingbird Dr.
Montclair Community Center – 2304 S. 135th Ave.
Motto McLean Ice Arena – 5015 South 45th St.
Saddlebrook Community Center – 14850 Laurel Ave.
Subby Anzaldo Columbus Park Community Center – 1515 S. 24th St.
