College Republicans volunteer at food bank

By Allie Blood

Published Oct. 26, 2007

In an effort to aid the community, the College Republicans volunteered at the Central Missouri Food Bank on Thursday.

College Republicans President Jordan Clementi said Republicans chose the food bank because it was a familiar location a good organization to support.

"We wanted to do something for the community," Clementi said.

When the club members arrived, organizers gave them rubber gloves and blue hairnets. Food bank organizers cautioned them to only touch food and sanitary surfaces as not to contaminate the food. The members scooped Ritz Bitz crackers from cardboard boxes into plastic bags and sealed them with red tape. Finally, volunteers packed the bags into boxes for storage and shipment.

Other MU students joined the College Republicans in the effort. Senior Laura Engel has volunteered at the food bank previously with other MU organizations such as Phi Sigma Pi fraternity.

"I've been here before, and I thought it would be fun to help out tonight," she said.

According to the Central Missouri Food Bank's Web site, the bank serves more than 140 agencies and shipped 20.5 million pounds of food last year. The food bank aids senior citizens, children's homes and families in Missouri. The food bank is one of five food banks in the nation that does not charge a delivery fee for shipping food and other products.

In the warehouse, the food bank has a freezer room, a refrigerated room and a general store room. The rooms hold U.S. Department of Agriculture commodities varying from milk and fruit snacks to paper towels and toilet paper. Food is stored on pallets and wrapped in plastic.

Clementi said the College Republicans plan to do more service projects throughout the year.

"This is more of a trial run, but we'll plan other things for this year," Clementi said.

College Republicans Vice Chairman Marcus Bowen said the College Republicans have previously sponsored a Sept. 11 service project in which they built a memorial of American flags and offered students the chance to record a message to troops abroad.

"So many of our members are involved on campus and have jobs, it's hard for us to schedule events," Bowen said. "But we are always looking to help the community."

Bowen said approximately 10 members participated in the food bank service project.

"I saw the project on the agenda, and I thought it would be fun," College Republicans member Mindy Miller said.