Oct 19, 2018 3 min read

Several local groups geared toward feeding hungry children and families are teaming up to hold a food drive in the Mon Valley over the next two months.

The Smithton-based nonprofit Bikers Helping Others is working with the area Salvation Army and Bag Brigade, an outreach group from a local church, to set up drop-off points in Washington, Westmoreland and Fayette counties starting late this week.

Valerie Canigiani is treasurer of the bikers group, which incorporated as a nonprofit a year and a half ago.

“Obviously, between our three organizations, there’s never enough,” said Canigiani. “So we thought joining forces and putting out boxes as many places as we could would benefit everybody.”

The “Feed the Valley” initiative will continue accepting donations until shortly before Christmas.

The food drive reflects some of the overlap in the missions of the different organizations. Canigiani’s group provides meals and groceries to needy families – four last year – primarily around Thanksgiving and Christmas. Canigiani said the Salvation Army in the area provides groceries for 150 families a month.

The Bag Brigade is an outreach project of Gospel Alliance Church in Rostraver Township, said Kathy Kelly, who runs the program with fellow volunteer Ashlee Eisengart. They work with Belle Vernon Area school officials to pack bags with easy-to-prepare food to distribute to students who might otherwise go hungry over the weekend. The program has expanded from its original goal of helping students in Marion Elementary in Washington Township, Fayette County, to a way of alleviating hunger in all four district buildings.

“We grew from 20 kids to 170 in less than two years,” Kelly said.

The groups had some help from the local government, too.

“We’re partnering with Bikers Helping Others,” said RJ Sokol, a North Belle Vernon councilman and chairman of the borough’s recreation committee. “We’re helping out with the drive, itself. We’re helping get locations.”

He said the response to the groups’ initiative – which also attracted help from private businesses and volunteer fire departments – shows that people within the Mon Valley are learning to work together to solve common problems.

“When push comes to shove,” Sokol said, “the people of this Valley step up to the plate.”

So far, drop-off locations include the Washington Township, Rostraver Central, North Belle Vernon and Collinsburg vollunteer fire companies; Hey Juicy and Hamilton Chiropractic in North Belle Vernon; Union Cleaners in Belle Vernon; Model Cleaners in Charleroi; and Jack’s Supermarket in Smithton. Organizers said sites also will be at Community Bank locations in the three counties.