LIMA — Heir Force Community School on Tuesday donated upwards of 10,000 cans of food and other non-perishable items to the Neighborhood Relief Thrift Store, which provides emergency food boxes and meals to families experiencing crisis.
The community school’s annual food drive has collected more than 50,000 donations from families of Heir Force students to support entities such as the West Ohio Food Bank, Our Daily Bread and local church groups in previous years.
This year, Heir Force students focused their charitable efforts to help Neighborhood Relief, located on Elida Road, so the thrift store may continue providing food to families in emergencies.
The store sells secondhand furniture, toys, books and other household items, while emergency food boxes are also available for families referred to Neighborhood Relief for help. The boxes typically contain enough food to feed a family for one week, said Heather Roznowski, who owns the store with her husband, David.
“We always ask: Could you use a food box? And more and more (often) the answer is yes, please,” Roznowski said.
The donation from Heir Force came just in time too. Everyday non-perishable items have been harder to find through the West Ohio Food Bank, Roznowksi said, “so, this is a huge blessing for us.”
For students, the annual food drives at Heir Force are an opportunity to support their neighbors and learn the value of charity amid a time of great need.
“There’s a bunch of bad things going around, and families are struggling in this crisis,” said Isaac Grundisch, an eighth-grade student at Heir Force. “It’s just a great thing to support.”
Deanna Callahan, another Heir Force student, added, “We can help people with the littlest things and have an impact.”
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