2,400 boxes of food, family items delivered to Yuma

Hundreds of Yuma area families facing difficult times each received a 25-pound box of food, a 10-pound box of personal care items and a box of beauty products and jewelry Wednesday.

The goods were provided by Feed The Children, a national charity organization which partnered with Crossroads Mission to distribute the items. The mission staff worked with churches, the American Legion, VFW, and other philanthropic entities in the Yuma area to connect with families in need.

The food will provide a family of four with enough to eat for up to one week, while the hygiene and beauty products are intended to lift their spirts, said Barbara Rochester, special events and public relations director for Crossroads Mission.

“This is luxury for our families. It is really a step up. This helped them a lot.”

About 2,400 boxes were brought to Crossroads Mission for distribution Wednesday morning by two semi-trucks. The boxes were then passed out to each family, who formed a line in their vehicles and patiently awaited their turn.

“We started at 11 o'clock and we've already got half done by 12 o'clock,” Rochester said. “We have over 50 volunteers here directing the traffic, packing up the food and making sure everything goes really smoothly.”

Wednesday's distribution was part of Feed The Children's Americans Feeding Americans Caravan, which has helped more than 440,000 families across the country since it began in 2009.

According to Feed The Children, nearly one in four children living in Yuma, or 24.4 percent, is considered impoverished. And at 392,229, the number of impoverished children living in Arizona could fill Desert Sun Stadium more than 37 times.

“Many of the families on the Americans Feeding Americans Caravan considered themselves middle class just a few short years ago,” said Tony Sellars of Feed The Children.

“Now they are making hard choices between paying bills and feeding their families. With the help from Crossroads Mission, we can help make that choice a little easier for families struggling in this economy.”

The underprivileged families who received food and items Wednesday were specifically chosen because they “are in the gray area that did not qualify for other programs” such as food stamps, Rochester said.

“Our case workers called the families up and we did strict monitoring on who was getting the food. It is so important to us because we know the individuals really are facing hard circumstances.”

Boxes will also be distributed to families who have stayed at Crossroads Mission when they leave the shelter.

In the United States, nearly 10 million people receive assistance each year from food and supplies distributed by Feed The Children through over 1,200 local partner agencies. For more information, visit www.feedthechildren.org.