BAKERSFIELD, CA - Kern County has been called one of the hungriest counties in the nation.
Many of those empty bellies belong to children. But on Wednesday, people from all over the county turned out to help, at our annual holiday food drive.
Dropping off bags of goodies at the annual holiday food drive has been a tradition for Pacene Alejo for many years.
"I do this every year. I feel everybody needs help," said Alejo.
She and many others opened their hearts and wallets to make sure families who are struggling, have enough to eat this holiday season.
"It's helping out the community and lots of families that need help, especially during the holidays when it's hard to get food and things like that. People need the extra help," said volunteer, Aimee Pechie.
And, you never know when you might find yourself needing assistance from the food bank.
"Seventy-eight percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, so one emergency in your household can set you back where you would need assistance. So, if you're sick for two weeks and you don't get a paycheck or if your car breaks down or if your boiler goes out in your house, any sort of emergency where people live paycheck to paycheck can be devastating," said Pam Bernhart, Community Action Partnership of Kern.
The food bank is grateful for all food donations, but this year they were hoping to get more healthy foods.
"Healthy choice soups, canned vegetables, unsweetened apple sauce, cans of fruit with light syrup instead of heavy syrup," said Bernhart.
Cash and checks were also dropped off. Every dollar buys seven pounds of food, which goes a long way toward alleviating hunger in Kern County.
Nearly 10,000 pounds of food was donated Wednesday along with more than $6,600 in cash.
If you would still like to help, go to www.capk.org.
Many of those empty bellies belong to children. But on Wednesday, people from all over the county turned out to help, at our annual holiday food drive.
Dropping off bags of goodies at the annual holiday food drive has been a tradition for Pacene Alejo for many years.
"I do this every year. I feel everybody needs help," said Alejo.
She and many others opened their hearts and wallets to make sure families who are struggling, have enough to eat this holiday season.
"It's helping out the community and lots of families that need help, especially during the holidays when it's hard to get food and things like that. People need the extra help," said volunteer, Aimee Pechie.
And, you never know when you might find yourself needing assistance from the food bank.
"Seventy-eight percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, so one emergency in your household can set you back where you would need assistance. So, if you're sick for two weeks and you don't get a paycheck or if your car breaks down or if your boiler goes out in your house, any sort of emergency where people live paycheck to paycheck can be devastating," said Pam Bernhart, Community Action Partnership of Kern.
The food bank is grateful for all food donations, but this year they were hoping to get more healthy foods.
"Healthy choice soups, canned vegetables, unsweetened apple sauce, cans of fruit with light syrup instead of heavy syrup," said Bernhart.
Cash and checks were also dropped off. Every dollar buys seven pounds of food, which goes a long way toward alleviating hunger in Kern County.
Nearly 10,000 pounds of food was donated Wednesday along with more than $6,600 in cash.
If you would still like to help, go to www.capk.org.