American Legion Post 82 in Colorado recently kicked off its holiday food drive, which started in 1925 and last year provided meals for 95 families.
On Oct. 16, a tradition started in 1925 kicked off its 101st year, as members of American Legion Post 82 in Elizabeth, Colo., started their annual holiday food drive. From noon to 4 p.m. every Friday and Saturday until the Friday before Thanksgiving, members of Post 82 – along with local Scouts and other volunteers from the community – will be outside of Walmart and Safeway Elizabeth.
There, they will be collecting both non-perishable food and monetary donations, with the goal of providing dozens of area families with food for both the holiday season and beyond.
Post 82 Commander and Food Drive Chairman Bud Blazier has been involved with the food drive for around seven years and took over chairmanship of the program last year.
“It started as a Christmas basket food drive,” Blazier said. “They used to go door to door to collect baskets of food to help the needy families. Now we have grocery stores. We just stand in front of them.”
In addition to receiving food donations, Post 82 also receives monetary contributions. That money is used to buy groceries that the post may be short of, including hams and turkeys. The post also purchases fresh vegetables, while gift cards of $25-$30 also are provided so recipients can purchase items like butter, milk and eggs.
“Last year, we collected 400 boxes of food, and we collected over $13,000 in donations,” Blazier said. “We served 95 families last year, plus some of our shut-ins and some of the wounded warriors in our community. And any leftover food goes to the main food bank in (nearby) Kiowa.”
Any leftover financial donations go toward supporting the post’s scholarship program, which provides four $1,500 scholarships to students from each of the area high schools, as well as sending area youth to Boys and Girls State.
Families who receive the food boxes are identified through a collaboration between Post 82 and the Elbert County Coalition Outreach (ECCO), a non-profit coalition of local community service agencies, businesses, and individuals that work together to identify community needs and provide emergency outreach to Elbert County residents.
“(ECCO) runs a toy drive for Christmas (for children in need),” Blazier said. “They vet these families for that purpose, and then we attach to that vetting process. And so around a week before Christmas, they come and pick up their toys and food, and they have a wonderful Christmas.”
Blazier said some people show up to receive their food and toys and don’t have enough room for everything because there’s so much food. “People who hand them their food say they’re so touched about the donations – especially the people that haven’t been through it before,” he said. “You hand them a turkey and toys and more food, and they get more stuff than they can fit in their car. They’re very, very grateful to have that kind of support from the community.”
Blazier said the food drive resonates with him on a personal level. “I wouldn’t have volunteered to be the chairman if I didn’t feel a certain personal accomplishment in getting this thing to work,” he said. “I see families in need, and I was one myself once. I had three boys and no job. So I kind of appreciate what these people are going through.”
- Community