Lions Club, seniors donate to FISH
FAIRBORN — The Fairborn Lions Club and Senior Center have teamed up with another Greene County city to help feed citizens in need.
The Lions Club President Fred Pumroy and fellow Lion and Senior Center Director Ellen Slone recently dropped off more than 2,400 canned food items to the Fairborn FISH Food Pantry.
“The food was donated by the Bellbrook JROTC Cadets which has become a great cooperative between the two cities each year to feed the needy,” said Pumroy. “They have a project each year to collect canned foods. I think their goal is about 10,000 every year, and this year they had a little over 11,000.”
The Bellbrook JROTC donates the canned goods to local food pantries in Bellbrook and Xenia. One of the group’s commanders, Assistant Aerospace Instructor Master Sergeant (retired) Tony Chitwood, worked for Pumroy when he was in the Air Force. When Pumroy saw that they were collecting items a few years ago, he contacted Chitwood.
“I told him if they ever have any left over we could use it here in Fairborn,” Pumroy said. “This is the third time we’ve received items from the project, but this is the most we’ve ever gotten from them.”
Last year, the Fairborn FISH Food Pantry served 4,711 families, 145,026 meals, and more than 115 tons of food to residents of Fairborn and Bath Township, according to volunteers. In the months of April through June 2014, there was a 25 percent increase in the number of families and individuals served.
“This gives them supplies to keep them going through the holidays and afterwards,” said Pumroy.
The holiday season is also one of their busiest times and many local organizations hold food drives to help them stock up. The day before Thanksgiving, the FISH pantry handed out nearly 700 donated turkeys to area families in need.
For more information or to get involved with the Fairborn Lions Club, contact Fred Pumroy at 937-609-8112 or flmapumroy@aol.com. To learn more about about Lions Clubs International, visit their website at www.lionsclubs.org.
The Lions Club President Fred Pumroy and fellow Lion and Senior Center Director Ellen Slone recently dropped off more than 2,400 canned food items to the Fairborn FISH Food Pantry.
“The food was donated by the Bellbrook JROTC Cadets which has become a great cooperative between the two cities each year to feed the needy,” said Pumroy. “They have a project each year to collect canned foods. I think their goal is about 10,000 every year, and this year they had a little over 11,000.”
The Bellbrook JROTC donates the canned goods to local food pantries in Bellbrook and Xenia. One of the group’s commanders, Assistant Aerospace Instructor Master Sergeant (retired) Tony Chitwood, worked for Pumroy when he was in the Air Force. When Pumroy saw that they were collecting items a few years ago, he contacted Chitwood.
“I told him if they ever have any left over we could use it here in Fairborn,” Pumroy said. “This is the third time we’ve received items from the project, but this is the most we’ve ever gotten from them.”
Last year, the Fairborn FISH Food Pantry served 4,711 families, 145,026 meals, and more than 115 tons of food to residents of Fairborn and Bath Township, according to volunteers. In the months of April through June 2014, there was a 25 percent increase in the number of families and individuals served.
“This gives them supplies to keep them going through the holidays and afterwards,” said Pumroy.
The holiday season is also one of their busiest times and many local organizations hold food drives to help them stock up. The day before Thanksgiving, the FISH pantry handed out nearly 700 donated turkeys to area families in need.
For more information or to get involved with the Fairborn Lions Club, contact Fred Pumroy at 937-609-8112 or flmapumroy@aol.com. To learn more about about Lions Clubs International, visit their website at www.lionsclubs.org.
