Spring in St. Louis means two things – the Cardinals return to Busch Stadium and inclement weather. Last week, we experienced both. The Cards had their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday, April 8 and the town of Hazelwood was ravaged by a tornado on Wednesday, April 10.
When disasters strike, the St. Louis Area Foodbank steps in to help out. Sometimes it’s a national crisis like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, or the Joplin tornado. Sometimes natural disasters hit close to home like the flood of ‘93, the Bridgeton tornado or the storms that hit Hazelwood last week. Whenever and wherever people are in need of food and other clean-up supplies, we strive to be there to help. We feel an even greater responsibility when disasters hit close to home. After all, these are the communities that help us feed families in need year round.
When the storm struck the Hazelwood community on April 10, 2013, we delivered more than 5,600 pounds of product to the Learning Center in Hazelwood to aid in their relief efforts.
Today, we loaded a truck with nearly 9,500 pounds of fresh drinking water, fresh apples and hand sanitizer. Deacon Arstell Jones of Good News Baptist Church Food Pantry will deliver those items to the Hazelwood Community Center where volunteers will hand it out to those affected by the storm.
Next April, fans of the Cardinals can count on their return to St. Louis and if an area community gets hit with severe weather, citizens can count on the St. Louis Area Foodbank to help them with food and other needed supplies during their recovery efforts.
Update: On April, 18th we sent nearly 36,096 pounds of fresh drinking water and fresh apples to Clarksville, MO City Hall at the request of Missouri SEMA (State Emergency Management Agency). Clarksville, MO is in Pike County and within the St. Louis Area Foodbank’s service territory.
