Merrill Area Ministries is sponsoring the sixth annual Fill the Gazebo food drive, which will be held Saturday, Aug. 4, from 9 a.m.-noon at the gazebo in Normal Park.
This huge food drive allows Merrill area residents to support Merrill’s three food pantries and the Food for Kids program in the coming months. All donations are used locally to support neighbors in need.
Last year, 36 organizations as well as 86 individuals participated in the drive and collected over 7,000 pounds of nonperishable food and care items, along with $6,000 in monetary contributions.
This year, the drive is in honor of one of its founding members, Barbara Dintelman, with a goal to collect 10,000 pounds of goods to fill the gazebo to capacity.
Community members can participate as individuals or groups and may drop off nonperishable donations at the gazebo (Normal Park) during the morning hours of Saturday, Aug. 4. Monetary donations can be made payable to Merrill Food Pantry whereas gifts for the Food for Kids program can take the form of gift cards to grocery stores, Walmart or Sam’s Club or checks made payable to Food for Kids.