Ozaukee County, Wis., Legion Family members collected and donated the food as part of The American Legion’s USA 250 Challenge.
Members of the American Legion Family of Ozaukee County in Wisconsin collected and delivered over 1,200 pounds of food to three local food pantries, along with dog and cat food and nearly $1,000 in donations. The American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary and Sons of The American Legion were asked to collect and donate 250 food items as part of community service for The American Legion’s USA 250 Challenge, which celebrates America’s 250th birthday on July 4.
“I was very proud of my Legion Family here in Ozaukee County that they all came together, and we did the (USA) 250 Challenge,” said Maggie Geiger, Ozaukee County president, Department of Wisconsin Auxiliary National Executive Committeewoman, and past department president. “We (the seven posts and units in the county) each got 250 or more pieces of food items. It was something very simple, but it went off well, so I'm very proud of my Legion Family.”
The food was delivered by Legion, Auxiliary and Sons members on Jan. 19, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to the food pantries Ozaukee Food Alliance, Port Washington Food Pantry and Family Sharing of Ozaukee County Inc.
“Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a day of volunteering and reaching out in the communities, and the food drive just fell in line with this and the USA 250 Challenge,” Geiger said. “It checked a lot of the boxes of what the challenge was for, and I was able to put it in the local paper to bring awareness of the challenge to the community and also to help the families in Ozaukee County that are in need of food.”
Geiger shared that combined, the three food pantries serve about 600 individuals weekly and over 170 children within the school system. Members left empty boxes at the bank or posts for the community to drop off food.
“Nobody knows what goes on behind a closed door at home, and the need for food is so great,” she said. “Over 300 people at one food pantry, the other one has over 200, another one has like 100. That starts adding up and then you add the children that are in need. Everybody needs that extra helping hand, and the food pantries do it in such a way that nobody is embarrassed. None of us know if we might need to go and get that can of fruit or whatever.”
The food drive was the first one the Ozaukee County Legion Family has done as one of their annual projects, but it will not be the last.
“Some of the members have contacted me since, and it was the ones who were able to deliver the food, and they said, ‘You know, we should do this once a year. We should make sure that this is always a county project because we had no idea the need in some of these areas.’”
The next food drive members are looking at will be Easter when items such as ham, flour and sugar are needed.
“You can come up with great ideas, but if you don't have the backing of the family, it doesn't go anywhere. Like I said, I'm so proud of my Legion Family that they all came together and delivered on such a cold week,” said Geiger of the negative-2 temps the food was delivered in. “Our Legion Family is very important in the community, and I really wanted the community to see what we do.”
The food drive also served as a reminder of the need to give back to the community, Geiger said.
“Sometimes we overlook our communities, but our communities are the ones that really support us, and we need to get out there and reach out to them more. With the Fourth of July celebration coming up for America’s birthday, if we can get our name out there and let the community see what we do, I truly believe that we will gain more members, and we'll have people behind us to continue the ball rolling to help our veterans, our families, and our communities.”
Register for The American Legion’s USA 250 Challenge.
- USA250 Challenge