Press Release

FORT WAYNE, Ind (WOWO): Community Harvest Food Bank is collecting hand-held food items such as granola bars and ready-to-eat meals that don’t require heat and can be opened without a can opener for the Oklahoma Tornado Disaster relief efforts.

Community Harvest stresses that, at this time, the only thing first responders are asking for are these particular items and also financial contributions.

Any donations that are brought to the food bank that do not fit into those categories will be used for local hunger relief.

Community Harvest is accepting donations Monday through Friday 7:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. at its 999 E. Tillman Road facility. Checks can be made out to Community Harvest with “OK Tornado Relief” in the memo line. Donations can also be made online at Communityharvest.org. Click the “Donate” button on the homepage under the tornado relief information. Upon entering the donation information a second donation review page will display a place for “special instructions.” Enter “OK Tornado Relief” in that area.  

“Community Harvest will send all hand-held food and ready-to-eat meal donations and financial contributions at the end of each week to our Feeding America partners in Oklahoma until further notice,” said Jane Avery, executive director.

“We want to stress to well-meaning, generous individuals not to get creative about their donations and that it is imperative that they go through proper agencies to get their donations to the area instead of organizing a collection and driving it to the affected area themselves. At this time, the only items we need are the easy food and financial donations. Anything else will only complicate the relief efforts.”