Food for Families brings in tons of food

By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press

Hundreds of Covites demonstrated their generosity by donating tens of thousands of pounds of food to local charities during the annual Food For Families. 
Food for Families was held Friday outside of Copperas Cove’s HEB Plus! from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. Volunteers collected, weighed, and distributed food throughout the day. The food items will be distributed evenly amongst Baptist Benevolence, Cove House, and My Brother’s House.
“We have tons of wonderful people who have come to help us,” said Doris McCrary, Director for Baptist Benevolence. “Everything that we get, we didn’t have yesterday.”
McCrary said that all of the donations stay in Copperas Cove and go directly towards helping the needy of Copperas Cove.
“I like to do service work,” said Clark Rushton (15) who volunteered for most of the day Saturday. Rushton is a member of Boy Scout Troop 245. “It’s a great cause.”
Charles Lyons volunteered for most of the day along with his wife, Dorothy Lyons. Charles Lyons said that seeing the generosity of those around him gave him hope for the world.
“It should be basic human nature for everybody to help everybody else,” said Lyons. “It’s so refreshing to see the kids out here. The kids basically held the fort out here during the day.”
Early in the day, homeschooled children volunteered their time and energy towards helping with the event, many adults attended as soon as they got off work, and even more students volunteered after they finished school. People of all ages came together to ensure that the event was a success. 
Ellen Lanning attended the event along with her husband, James Lanning, and their son, Matthew Lanning (14). Ellen and her husband volunteered for most of the day, and their son began helping out as soon as he finished school. The Lannings are members of the Exchange and Excel Clubs, and have been helping out with Food for Families events for years. 
“We like to help people in the community, and we know they bring a lot of food in which is a great thing,” said Lanning. “It feels so good to see that so many people in Copperas Cove have caring hearts…It’s nice to see that everyone can come together and do something to help the people in need in our community.”