Dominick’s & ABC 7 Chicago Holiday Food Drive collects 1 million pounds
Support arrives as Greater Chicago Food Depository experiences record demand
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| Food Depository Executive Director Kate Maehr (left) is joined by ABC 7 meteorologist Tracy Butler and Jeff Norkiewicz, vice president of retail marketing for Dominick’s Finer Foods. |
Dominick’s Finer Foods and ABC 7 Chicago helped collect the equivalent of more than 1 million pounds of food for the Greater Chicago Food Depository through the annual Dominick’s & ABC 7 Chicago Holiday Food Drive.
The drive ran from the beginning of November through Jan. 3, 2010, and collected 127,810 pounds of food and $169,622, totaling the equivalent of 1,034,993 pounds. The collection was the most for the food drive since 2004.
“We are so grateful to Dominick’s and ABC 7 for their continued support of our holiday food drive,” said Kate Maehr, executive director of the Food Depository. “Because of their efforts, we have had one of our most successful food drives in a year when it is vitally important to provide more food for our neighbors.” The Food Depository has seen record demand at pantries in recent months, including a record of 463,173 individual visits during November.
Individuals dropped off nonperishable food items at the ABC 7 Chicago lobby, at 190 N. State St., at area Dominick’s stores and made donations to the Food Depository through Depository Dollars, available at Dominick's checkout counters in $1, $2 and $5 denominations.
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| A tote from the Dominick’s & ABC 7 Chicago Holiday Food Drive awaits sorting in the Food Depository warehouse. |
“The Dominick’s Food Drive has been committed to helping the Greater Chicago Food Depository for the past 10 years and we will to continue to answer the call of those in need,” said Jeff Norkiewicz, vice president of retail marketing for Dominick’s Finer Foods.
ABC 7 meteorologist Tracy Butler and anchor Hosea Sanders helped focus attention on the critical need to fight hunger, with live reports and weathercasts from three Dominick’s stores on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Additionally, Butler and Sanders appeared in public service announcements supporting the food drive, for which Butler has helped to spearhead since 1999. ABC 7 public affairs program “Chicagoing” on Nov. 29 examined the issue of hunger in the area and the importance of the Holiday Food Drive.
