Saturday, May 4, 2024
Coryell County 4-H ambassadors were present to volunteer during the food drive and contributed 500 pounds of food to the cause.
Debbie Blanchard, co-director of the Care Center, is pictured with Gordon Collier from KWTX Channel 10, and co-director of the Care Center, Deral McWhorter at the conclusion of the Food for Families drive.
Deral McWhorter pretends to faint after learning that donations were 200,000 pounds greater than the previous year.
Gatesville High School students remained busy throughout the day sorting out food donations that were being dropped off at the fire station.
The Gatesville Knights of Columbus along with representatives from King Baptist Church were present with donations. The Knights of Columbus raised 71 pounds in food and $900 in cash while King Baptist Church raised $5,000 in donations.
John Hutka, an Army representative of MATES, presented a check for $500 to Gordon Collier who was hosting the Food for Families event.
The end of the campaign left co-director of the Care Center, Deral McWhorter, almost speechless with delight over this year’s astounding results.
Pete Sousa of KWTX Channel 10 joined students from the Gatesville Intermediate School. Emily Yarbrough’s fifth grade class won overall while the fourth grade class of Kara Kouns was the winner for their grade. Gatesville Intermediate campus produced 12, 246 pounds of food.
Despite health issues, KWTX Channel 10’s Rusty Garrett was present in spirit at the event which featured a life-size cutout of the anchor.
Residents of Gatesville were encouraged to send personalized messages to Rusty Garrett who is currently battling cancer. Garrett has been hosting Gatesville’s Food for Families yearly since 1990.
Volunteers are shown sorting the many food donations that were received during the day.
Deral McWhorter, co-director of the Care Center, is shown with KWTX Channel 10’s anchor Gordon Collier honoring Rusty Garrett during the final moments of the food drive.
Volunteers were constantly on hand during the day to help unload the numerous vehicles driving through the fire department to drop off food and donations.
Representatives of Walmart and Hillside Medical Lodge were on hand to give donations they have raised over the last few months. Walmart donated $3,000 in cash to the cause while Hillside Medical Lodge raised over 4,000 pounds in food donations.
Keith Steward oversaw weighing the food donations. He meticulously weighed and recorded the poundage of each donation.
Once again, Gatesville and the surrounding communities answered the call and rallied together to help feed the hungry.
This year’s Food for Families was deemed a huge success, far exceeding the previous year’s total by 200,000 pounds. At last count, 806,820 pounds of food were donated “and we’re still counting,” said Debbie Blanchard, co-director of The Care Center.
