Galion Moose Lodge announces canned food drive

Galion Moose Lodge is planning its annual canned food drive for noon-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25, during the Ohio State-Michigan football game.

It will be held on the front steps of the lodge office, 520 Market St., said Galion Moose Lodge Administrator Amy Rupp.

“It’s a small one, but we do good for what we are doing,” Rupp said.

She said November chairperson, Devon Ruiz, gets families for the Moose Lodge food drive and the Girl Scout Troop 1919 food drive from the Crawford County Center of Ohio Heartland Community Action.

“She will be adopting one family for this lodge,” Rupp said.

Families selected based on income

Tammy Crabtree, from Crawford County Center of Ohio Heartland Community Action, said they have a list of income-eligible families for food drives and pantries and other programs because there are many families that come through the agency's programs.

“Also, organizations sometimes would come and say, we want a large family, or we want a family with three children - they specify the size of the families, and we would just go through the list of the families that we have,” Crabtree said. “We do everything through income eligibility - so they would know that it's a family that is actually in need.”

Girl Scout Troop leader Darcy Keppler will stand outside during the drive to collect the donations from the community.

More: Moose Lodge celebrates 100th anniversary

The goods will be divided between the two families, based on the number of the family members, along with other Christmas gifts gathered for the families by the lodge members.

“They will hopefully be outside, and people will drive by bringing canned goods,” Rupp said. “Then they will come in and sort them and check dates, and then depending on the sizes of the families, divide them accordingly.”

Along with the annual canned food drive, the Galion Moose Lodge donates to the YMCA Galion Community Center, the police and fire departments and Galion Hospital.

For example, said Rupp, the Galion Moose Lodge donates stuffed animals to the law enforcement authorities and first responders, who can later take those to the calls when minors are involved.

The Galion Moose Lodge's has three causes it supports - Mooseheart residential childcare facility in Illinois, Moosehaven retirement community in Florida and local community needs.

“The Moose is all about Mooseheart, Moosehaven and then our community,” Rupp said. “It’s been our thing for years.”

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Galion Moose Lodge to host annual canned food drive Nov. 25