Food drive chasing 2,000 pounds

By JUSTIN HARMON/Staff

For five years, People Inc. of Southwest Virginia has been running a food drive in the area in the hopes of stocking Second Harvest Food Bank with plenty of canned goods.
And for all five years, Dustin Woods has been a part of it.
Now in its sixth year, Woods hopes to be able to help once again when People Inc. celebrates Global Youth Service Day on April 26 with a food drive spanning both Washington County and Bristol.
Woods said People Inc. helped pay his college tuition. But he isn’t just returning the favor by helping.
“It’s a way to give back to (People Inc.) and help the community,” he said.
Woods, a kennel assistant at VCA Highlands Animal Hospital in Abingdon, has been helping the community through fund and food drives through his church for even longer. Woods has also visited children’s home to paint and clean and raked leaves for the elderly.
While Woods was enthusiastic about helping out and though he’s been a staple since day one, he’s not sure if he’ll make it out this year.
“As long as my work schedule permits,” he said.
According to Youth Workforce Development Specialist for People Inc. of Southwest Virginia Traci Mitchell, Woods and many others like him have been helping since the start of the food drive around six years ago.
Originally, the drive was put up against a vote to determine what the project the kids under Mitchell wanted to do. The first year, it was a food drive and, according to Mitchell, it did so well, they decided to make it an annual occurrence in addition to their yearly project.
“It was so successful… it made a lot of impact,” she said.
Mitchell said the Abingdon leg of the food drive would be going on from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Kroger grocery store on Cummings Street. There, volunteers will approach customers going in the store and ask if they want to donate to the cause.
Mitchell said that if you’re only popping in or you’re in a hurry, you can also make a cash donation and they’ll buy the food for you.
If you can’t make it out Saturday, Mitchell said that Kroger and Best Buy off Interstate 81’s Exit 7 will have barrels set up so people can drop off donations.
Over the past five years, Mitchell said their food drive has brought in around 4,000 pounds of food. The most ever in one year, she said, was 1,335 pounds.
“We hope to see that record go to 2,000 pounds this year,” she said.
Justin Harmon can be reached at 628-7101 or