South Hills CJK Food Drive

Today I am going to leave the ‘shop talk’ and discuss something more meaningful. With the holidays quickly approaching (yes, its true, just ask Wal-Mart), I wanted to do something special that would have an impact in our local communities. There are a ton of fantastic organizations out there so how would I focus my efforts? After some research and discussions with peers, it became very evident to me where we could have a strong impact.

Hunger isn’t something many in Peters Township have to face. Peters is an affluent community with many blessings. However, Washington County has many families who rely on the Greater Washington County Food Bank to feed their families. Nationally, food insecurity affects 14.7% of households and is defined as the condition of anxiety regarding running out of either food or money to buy more food.

In Washington County, over 4,700 families are registered with the Food Bank (projected to reach 5,000 by the end of the year)- of those, over 4,000 visit a local pantry once a month. This translates to roughly 26,000 individuals. Over the past two years, there has been major cuts- roughly 31% of funding - to the Food Bank program. Think about that: one third of funding. Imagine the hard choices the Food Bank has had to make. Corporate donations are keeping the Greene County Food Bank system afloat, let’s not let that happen to Washington County. This assistance program is right in our backyard and it is our responsibility to help our neighbors, especially so with the holidays and winter months approaching. 

Beginning October 15th, South Hills Chrysler Jeep Kia will begin our own food drive. Please help us collect enough goods to fill, yes fill, as many Chrysler Town & Country minivans as possible. Our goal for this first year is five. Imagine five minivans full of food arriving at the Greater Washington County Food Bank. I am incredibly excited to see that, please help me get to that number and see those vans full of food. In exchange for your help, we will honor a 10% discount on services and $100 discount on a vehicle with a food bank donation. There will be collection points in our service department, parts department, KIA showroom, and of course a Chrysler Town & Country minivan on the main showroom floor as our main collection center. We will collect through the end of the year. Accepted donations include non-perishable food items (peanut butter, tuna fish, canned fruits and vegetables, pasta, canned meat, rice, cereal, etc.), monetary donations, hygienic supplies, and office supplies. 

We thank the community in advance for their support in reaching our goal.