Sallisaw 4-H Food Drive Feeds 106 Families

Members of the Sallisaw 4-H Club and their leader Rita Holmes, along with family and friend volunteers packed and delivered 106 food boxes to families in Sequoyah County on Thursday, to ensure the families had enough food to eat over the Thanksgiving holiday week when the children are out of school. Holmes and her family decided to continue the food drive after husband and father Kenneth died Jan. 28. Kenneth Holmes organized and oversaw the food drive for 15 years. Rita Holmes said it was Kenneth's idea to include the 4-H club, as a service project for the youngsters. At the food packing on Thursday (above, top) are 4-H members, from the left, Tyler Holmes, Claire Cude, Leif Cude, Faith Cude, Eli Cude, Seth Cude, Christen Cude, Gabriella Cude, Solomon Cude, Sawyer Pool, Brayden Holmes, Allison Holmes and Rita Holmes.

More than 100 boxes of donated foods lined the walls, (above, bottom), at the Sequoyah County Fairgrounds building Thursday waiting to be delivered to area families. The food drive began when the late Kenneth Holmes found out that some elementary school children in Vian did not have enough to eat over the Thanksgiving holiday. The first year the Holmes family collected enough food to feed five Vian families. Holmes said her husband lived long enough to see the food drive grow to where over 100 families were fed. That milestone was reached in 2013. Thid year the food drive fed 106 families.

Photos and Story by Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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