The owners of convenience stores and petroleum stations understand that hunger is a year-round issue that doesn’t go away once the holidays are over.

The Central Valley chapter of the American Petroleum & Convenience Stores Association led by President Sukhi Sandu donated $500 to the food bank operation that serves as the distribution center to supply nearly 100 food closets throughout the 209 region. The chapter has more than 200 members from Lodi to Merced.

The donation comes on the heels of the successful Turkeys R Us drive that assured 750 struggling families in Manteca, Ripon, and Lathrop had traditional turkey or ham meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas. That is in addition to 200 turkeys provided to the community Thanksgiving dinner effort by the Manteca Rotary and Sunrise Kiwanis that provided more than 2,300 meals for people in the three communities.

“The community was fantastic,” noted Jessica Vaughn who coordinated the Turkeys R Us effort. 

The donation of funds and actual turkeys and hams allowed the Turkeys R Us effort to distribute 1,700 turkeys and hams to food closets in Manteca, Lathrop, and Ripon.

This marked the 21st consecutive year the community has made it possible for families asking for help at the holidays with food to have traditional meals. The need typically spikes around the holidays due to seasonal workers in industries such as agriculture and construction being laid off as well as those working at lower paying jobs fulltime while supporting families being hit with heating bills and holiday expenses.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com