Remember the excitement of sharing Valentines back in our grade school days? We shared the love with everyone in our class. But, when we grow up, Valentine’s Day becomes focused just on just that one significant “other” in life. Here’s a chance go retro and give your heart to our broader Valley community!
United Food Bank is offering a way for people to share more love this Valentine’s Day by sponsoring food items at its weekly Help Yourself food co-op on Friday, February 14. All this week, you can text VALENTINE to 91999 and choose the gift you want to give:
· $5 – Gives a box of fresh produce
· $7 – Fills a backpack to help a kid experiencing poverty
· $25 – Provides two cases of peanut butter
· $35 – Helps provide 175 meals
· $90 – Supplements 450 meals for Arizona families
Not only will your donations help feed people in need, each gift will become a tangible Valentine heart that United Food Bank will post in the entrance to its Mesa warehouse, to greet Help Yourself food co-op participants when they come for food assistance on the 14th.
Help Yourself, which is held each Friday from 8 a.m. to noon at 358 East Javelina Ave. in Mesa, served 539 households last Friday alone. Families and individuals can purchase fresh meats and produce at Help Yourself for just $20. Your donations will allow the Food Bank to add more grocery essentials to their shopping carts on Valentine’s Day and beyond! It also will let those struggling to make ends meet in our Valley community that their neighbors have a heart for them and their needs.
United Food Bank is a nonprofit organization that has been providing hunger relief to people in need in the East Valley and eastern Arizona for more than 35 years. They collect, acquire, store and distribute food and related commodities to more than 220 partner agencies that serve more than 228,000 people in need across more than 19,500 square miles. To learn more about United Food Bank and its Help Yourself food co-op, visit www.unitedfoodbank.org.