COUNTYWIDE : Food Bank Network Seeks Donations for Hurricane Victims

The local chapter of a national food bank network is seeking donations to help residents of Florida and Louisiana who were left homeless by Hurricane Andrew.

Food Share Inc. in Oxnard is asking for donations of non-perishable items such as cereal, paper goods, diapers and dried milk to assist disaster victims, said L. Jewel Pedi, the charity’s director.

Trucks and other means to transport the donated items to Florida and Louisiana also are in great demand, Pedi said. Food Share will send a load of donated goods to the stricken areas once enough has been collected, she said.

Food Share is one of 200 food banks in the Second Harvest Network that are responding to the disaster. About 900,000 pounds of food has already been distributed from 16 feeding sites set up in vacant lots in Miami, Pedi said.

Although food banks closer to the southern states are shipping water, juices and other beverages to disaster victims, Oxnard’s Food Share is seeking only non-perishable items because they will have to be transported across the country, Pedi said.

The American Red Cross has agreed to cooperate with the national food bank in providing relief, Pedi said. To make food or monetary donations, call Food Share at 647-3944 or 647-3945.