STATE COLLEGE — Leadership Centre County’s Class of 2025 announced a food drive to benefit the State College Food Bank from Friday, April 4, through Friday, April 25.
As a community leadership development program, Leadership Centre County’s mission is to educate folks about the needs, services available, strengths, opportunities and issues in the community.
“Each year the class is split into small groups called ‘Juntos’ which will collaborate to lead various projects that serve the community,” Leadership Centre County said in a press release.
“One of these small groups of members Gianna Baresse, Gary Barone, Hannah Brewster, Devin Kos, Tamia Kramer, Drew Nedzinski and Nichole Yatta, is working on a project to collect food and monetary donations for the State College Food Bank, a nonprofit that serves over 700 unique households in Centre County each year.”
The initiative called “Spring Forward, Give Back,” invites local businesses and organizations to participate by being collection sites throughout the month of April. A list of the participating businesses as well as the food bank’s list of greatest needs can be found online at facebook.com/centrcountyfooddrive.
“We are incredibly lucky to have the State College Food Bank as a resource in our area,” one of the group members, Brewster, shared. “In addition to raising money and collecting donations of shelf-stable goods, we hope this project can clarify misconceptions about the populations served by the food bank.”
According to the press release from Leadership Centre County, the food bank aims to not only provide food to those in the community in need, but to alo eliminate stigmas surrounding food assistance.
“A common misconception is that individuals must meet specific income requirements, however, no such restrictions exist — everyone is welcome, regardless of their circumstances,” The press release stated.
Additionally, the State College Food Bank serves all of Centre County and not just the State College area.
“The State College Food Bank is excited about this food drive. As our numbers continue to rise, we are going through food faster than ever before. While we have never run out of food, we want to ensure that day never comes. Food Drives play a crucial role in making sure that doesn’t happen,” Allayn Beck, the executive director of the State College Food Bank, shared.
“We are incredibly grateful for this partnership with Leadership. Community collaboration is key to the food bank’s mission of working toward a hunger-free Centre County.”
The monthlong food drive will kick off at downtown State College’s April First Friday event on Friday, April 4. The group from Leadership Centre County will be at the event sharing information and begin collecting donations during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Town Pride store, a community-focused gift store opening at 240 E. Calder Way. The festivities will start at 4 p.m. with a reception to follow.
Town Pride will continue to celebrate its grand opening on Saturday, April 5, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. To celebrate, the store will be offering a 20% discount on shoppers first purchases at the store who donate $20 or a bag of food valued at $20 or more.
The collaboration between Town Pride and the Leadership Centre County group was thanks to the Downtown State College Improvement District.
“I can’t think of a better way to open a business than by collaborating with partners while taking action to fill a need in our community. We’re thrilled to see this food drive downtown — it not only helps stock the State College Food Bank but also provides a meaningful way for our downtown businesses to create community connections by offering an opportunity to give so others can eat,” Kendra Kielbasa, retail and commercial business advocate, remarked.
“This initiative showcases the value of Leadership Centre County by bringing leaders together to serve and address community needs. We welcome everyone downtown to support this effort, explore our fantastic businesses and extend a warm welcome to town Pride and the other new shops that have recently opened their doors.”
For those interested in donating or hosting a donation box can contact Baresse at gbaresse@gmail.com. For more information about State College Food Bank and its mission, visit scfoodbank.org and for more information about Leadership Centre County, visit leadershipcentrecounty.org.
