Heartland United Way Holds Food Drive at Husker Harvest Days

Wood River – This week, Heartland United Way is holding their annual food drive at Husker Harvest Days. The president of Heartland United Way, Karen Rathke, said that the event has been repeating for nearly two decades.

Rathke said that the drive works with Nebraska FFA chapters to bring in food and teach them charity.

“We’re able to really teach the next generation of our future farmers the importance of making a difference [and] giving back,” Rathke said. “As well as addressing a need of food insecurity and being able to support a lot of backpack programs, food pantries, hot meals, shelters, anybody that is serving people and needs the food in Hall, Hamilton, Howard, and Merrick counties.”

Last year the drive brought in over 16,000 lbs of food and sent it out to over 21 different organizations.

This year it has brought in a bit less, so far collecting 8,408 lbs of food from 70 different schools and 1,658 individual donors. It is working with around 19 organizations.

“It feels a little bit lighter, which is not a huge surprise with just economics in the community,” Rathke said. “We see that in just a lot of different areas. I think even the local food pantries and the backpack programs are also seeing kind of a diminished access to food and donations of food. And so we know that this is even more important to be able to fill the shelves of a lot of these programs with the food that we receive during the Husker Harvest Days.”

Rathke said that children and the elderly are particularly susceptible to food insecurity.

“I think insecurity is just really a growing need,” Rathke said. “And to see a child hungry, but as a family, as an older person, that doesn’t know where their next meal is coming from is really a struggle. And so our growing population is our elderly who are on fixed incomes and they’re trying to stretch their budget with the rising food costs. So we’re seeing more of them coming in for help than we ever have.”

This year the food is being distributed to Heartland United Way’s partner organizations on Friday, Sept. 18.

Rathke said that at this time of year, Heartland United Way is in the “Heart” of their annual fundraiser campaigns for their 20 partner organizations.