Pack the Pickup set for Wednesday through Friday

The Jacksboro Lions Club, with the help of Lowe’s Market and Four Stars Ford, will host its Pack the Pickup Food Drive from 3-6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday at the grocery store.

The food drive will benefit the Jacksboro Community Food Pantry just in time to help the organization provide Thanksgiving meals for Jack County families.

Food Pantry Director Sheri Kettlety said food was distributed to 137 families in September or 438 people. The pantry serves an average of 425 to 450 people a month.

In the third quarter of 2016, the Jacksboro Community Food Pantry provided 18,375 meals during its third Monday of the month distributions.

The distribution of nonperishable food does not include the Produce Express truck which come to Jacksboro twice a month, making seasonal produce available to everyone in Jack Count.  Kettlety said the addition of fresh fruits and vegetables allows food pantry recipients to stretch what they receive from the monthly distribution.

The downturn in the oil field has increased the number of people receiving food.

“I had a man with a family of five come in last month who was laid off in the oil field. He’s never been laid off in his life,” Kettlety said. “I’ve got a school teacher who is taking care of parents. Two out of three people who come here moved back to Jacksboro because they lost their jobs elsewhere and are living with family.”

Last year’s Pack the Pickup Food Drive collected donations of an estimated 3,300 pounds of food.

Requested food times for the food pantry are Tuna Helper, chicken noodle soup, vegetable beef soup, macaroni and cheese, rice, pasta, beans, jelly, cereal, pancake mix and syrup, all canned fruits and vegetables, canned meats such as Spam and Dinty Moore Beef Stew, Sweet Sue’s Chicken and Dumplings, ravioli and Vienna sausages, and snacks.