Warsaw Girl Celebrates Birthday, Donates Food To Salvation Army
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
While many 11-year-old girls dream of getting toys for their birthdays, Ana Hamrick asked her guests to bring non-perishable food in place of gifts.
The food was donated Tuesday to the Salvation Army food pantry.
Hamrick, a fifth-grader at Eisenhower Elementary School, celebrated her birthday Dec. 2 when 10 of her friends came to her birthday party with bags of food.
"I asked my friends to bring food instead of toys because I don't want people to have to go hungry," Hamrick said.
Her friends brought items such as crackers, cereal, canned vegetables and even laundry detergent.In addition to her friends donating food to the pantry, Ana also donated items.
She has rang the bells for the Salvation Army kettle for the past two years with her parents, David and Jan, and her brother, Nick.
Jan said the family has donated food in the past for the Salvation Army when her son was in the Upward Bound basketball program.
Salvation Army Capt. Jody Dalberg said the pantry relies on donations from the community and local service clubs to keep the pantry stocked. The Food Bank of Northern Indiana, South Bend, also donates food.
The pantry is open Mondays through Fridays from 8 to 11:30 a.m.
"The pantry is not meant to supply all the groceries a family would need, but serve as a supplement," Dalberg said.
The pantry also has a freezer where meat is stored.
Dalberg said in the last year, the pantry has seen an increase in people needing food.
"We have not just seen unemployed people needing food, but the elderly who are on fixed incomes and are doing what they can to make ends meet," Dalberg said.
People who want to drop off non-perishable food for the pantry can do so Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. at the pantry at 501 E. Arthur St.
