VSO Participates in Orchestras Feeding America National Food Drive

VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is once again participating in the annual Orchestras Feeding America National Food Drive, sponsored by the League of American Orchestras.

“The food drive gives the VSO another opportunity to serve our community,” said Dr. Howard Hsu, VSO music director.

The Valdosta State University campus and surrounding communities are asked to support the VSO’s efforts by donating a nonperishable food item during the food drive, which ends Sunday, March 15. Donations may be dropped off at the Fine Arts Building, located at the intersection of Brookwood Drive and Oak Street, or at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts, located at 527 N. Patterson St.

Donations will also be accepted during the VSO’s “Flicker: Symphonic Celebration of the Silent Age” concert at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 14, in Whitehead Auditorium.  

The food collected will benefit Second Harvest of South Georgia, the second largest food back in the state. It serves a 12,675-square-mile region made up of 30 counties and is in need of all nonperishable food items, particularly dry soup, rice, canned or powdered milk, macaroni and cheese, cereal, peanut butter, beans, canned fruits and vegetables, tuna, canned meats, stew, soup, pasta, and fruit juices.

Over the past six years more than 425 orchestras from across the country have collected and donated nearly 450,000 pounds of food through the Orchestras Feeding America National Food Drive. The project started in 2009.

“The efforts of these orchestras have helped spread the word about how and why orchestras are so necessary to their communities, beyond providing amazing music,” according to the League of American Orchestras.

Contact Dr. Howard Hsu at hphsu@valdosta.edu to learn more.

On the Web:

www.americanorchestras.org

www.valdostasymphony.org

http://feedingsga.org/

Note: The VSO cannot accept items in glass jars or bottles, items that are unlabeled, dented cans, homemade foods, expired products, monetary donations, any open or resealed packages, clothing, diapers, other nonfood items, or perishable foods.

Hunger Facts

• One in three children in South Georgia lives in a home where having enough food is a struggle every day. That’s 56,000 children in the region who may go to bed hungry tonight.

• One in four people (all ages) in South Georgia does not know where he or she will get his or her next meal. Termed “food insecurity,” this inability to access affordable, nutritious food conveniently is a daily struggle for more than 16,000 citizens in the area.

• In terms of poverty and food insecurity, the 30-county South Georgia area has the highest rates in the state and among the highest rates in the nation.

Source: Second Harvest of South Georgia

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