PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) – With back-to-school season upon us, WTAP is partnering with three local organizations to collect food donations for children in Wood County.

With the donations, the community can help children who may not have enough to eat after school or on weekends.

Mike Tucker, president and CEO of West Virginia Credit Union, said these food drives are intended to help children in need.

“We should all be taking care of our families, and of course we should be taking care of the children in the area,” Tucker said. “We know that here in Wood County, there are about 1,100 people every week who need help in the schools, and different groups are trying to meet that need.”

Even after the food collection, donations will continue to be accepted at all participating locations.

Jessica Rockhold, operations manager at Grogg’s Heating and Cooling, says it’s important that people continue to donate.

“We want to raise as much as we can to serve as many children as we can for as long as we can,” Rockhold said. “It’s not just one day a week. We collect multiple days a week and multiple weekends, so it’s important to raise as much as we can.”

However, it’s also important for donors to know what foods are accepted. Dwight Ullman, executive director of Sunset Memorial Funeral Homes, said people need to think about the foods they donate because they should be easily accessible.

“It’s very important that the people who bring us food stop and think about what they’re bringing,” Ullman said. “Make sure they’re bringing things that a kindergartener or a first-grader can open, prepare and eat themselves. Because a lot of these kids and their parents aren’t there when we need to get food. So they have to do it themselves.”

Further information on the items and locations of the food collection can be found here.

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