The generous support of government leaders, area businesses and the community at large helped make this year’s ‘Firefighters Feeding Families Holiday Food Drive’ a tremendous success.
For the second straight year the Columbia-Richland Fire Department was able to provide more than 500 bags of food to area households in need. Thanks to grant support from members of the Richland County Council each household also received meat for their tables this Christmas. That included frozen turkeys, hams and chickens.
“Having that added support from our elected leaders definitely has added a special touch to our campaign these past few years,” said Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey D. Jenkins, “We are incredibly grateful to have the support of the Richland County Council and all of our citizens in our seasonal mission to feed the hungry.”
On Friday December 20, members of the Columbia City Council and Richland County Council were both on hand to help distribute grocery bags to citizens who requested food assistance. At times the line outside of CRFD headquarters on Laurel Street extended for several city blocks.
Donation Pick-Up Day for ‘Firefighters Feeding Families 2024’ – Friday December 20, 2024
This year the department took close to 500 names of citizens in our area who were going to be in need of food for the holidays. By the time the day ended on Friday, every bag of food had been distributed.
In 2023 the food drive concluded with more than 500 bags of food being handed out to households in need. This was a sharp uptick from the 2022 food drive during which 300 bags of food were provided.
CRFD would like to thank our many community sponsors for making this year’s ‘Firefighters Feeding Families’ Holiday Food Drive a success.
This includes members of the Richland County Council: Council Chairwoman Jesica Mackey, State Senator Overture E. Walker, Councilman Paul Livingston, Councilwoman Gretchen Barron, Councilman Don Weaver, Councilwoman Cheryl English, Councilman Jason Branham, Councilman Derrek Pugh, Councilwoman Yvonne McBride, Councilwoman Allison Terracio and Councilwoman Chakisse Newton.
From the City of Columbia the food drive also received support this year from City Councilman Tyler Bailey and City Manager Teresa Wilson.
Area businesses and organizations also played a huge role in the success of this year’s campaign. Among them were Adluh Flour, Latino Community Development, Walmart and Sam’s Club on Forest Drive as well as Food Lion in Cayce.
