MOBILE, Ala. — A chamber food drive is underway in southwest Mobile County, where the Southwest Mobile County Chamber of Commerce has launched its annual Alabama vs. Auburn Food Drive, collecting nonperishable food to help families of local elementary school students get through the Thanksgiving break.
The chamber will pack boxes of nonperishable food for families in need, and it is asking residents and businesses to help fill them. Donations are being accepted at the Tillman’s Corner Community Center, 5055 Carol Plantation Road. The deadline to donate is Wednesday, Nov. 18.
Along with food donations, the chamber is accepting sponsorships of $100 boxes. Each sponsored box will directly support one family in need.
How to help
There are two ways to take part in the Alabama vs. Auburn Food Drive:
- Donate food: Drop off nonperishable food items at the Tillman’s Corner Community Center, 5055 Carol Plantation Road, by Nov. 18.
- Sponsor a box: A $100 sponsorship covers one box, and each box goes directly to a family in need.
Anyone with questions about drop-off hours, sponsorships or how to organize a collection at a workplace, church or civic group can contact the Southwest Mobile County Chamber of Commerce.
Because the chamber is assembling shelf-stable boxes, donors should stick to nonperishable items in their original, unopened packaging. Food drives generally ask donors to check expiration dates before giving and to avoid glass containers, which can break in transit, along with homemade or perishable foods that cannot be safely stored.
Why the Thanksgiving break matters
For many families, the days around Thanksgiving are a time of big meals and gatherings. For others, a school holiday can make it harder to keep enough food in the house.
During the school year, many children eat breakfast and lunch at school through federally funded school meal programs, which provide free or reduced-price meals to students from qualifying households. When schools close for a holiday break, those meals stop, and families who rely on them must stretch their own grocery budgets to cover extra meals at home. Food banks, churches and civic groups across the country run holiday food drives for that reason, aiming to fill the gap until classes resume.
The Southwest Mobile County Chamber’s drive targets that need directly by focusing on families of local elementary school children. Packing the donations into boxes lets the chamber deliver a set supply of food to each family rather than distributing individual items.
A rivalry with a purpose
The drive takes its name from one of the most intense rivalries in college sports. The University of Alabama and Auburn University meet each year in the Iron Bowl, a game that has divided households, offices and neighborhoods across the state for generations and is traditionally played around Thanksgiving weekend.
Naming the food drive after the rivalry ties a holiday tradition that nearly every Alabamian knows to a cause that benefits neighbors regardless of which team they cheer for.
About the chamber and Tillman’s Corner
The Southwest Mobile County Chamber of Commerce represents businesses in the southwestern part of the county, an area that includes Tillman’s Corner, Theodore and surrounding communities. Like many local chambers, it pairs its work on behalf of member businesses with community service projects. Earlier this fall, the chamber ran its annual Guns & Gear Giveaway raffle, with proceeds benefiting the SWMCC Foundation and its T.A.L.L. Scholarship Program for local students.
Tillman’s Corner is an unincorporated community southwest of the City of Mobile, centered along U.S. Highway 90 and near Interstate 10. It is home to a busy commercial corridor and many residential neighborhoods. The Tillman’s Corner Community Center on Carol Plantation Road hosts community meetings and events and serves as a convenient collection point for residents of the southwestern part of the county.
Giving after the storm
The food drive was announced Oct. 9, the same day Hurricane Isaias made landfall on the Gulf Coast. With a Nov. 18 deadline, the drive leaves several weeks for residents and businesses to contribute once they have taken care of their own storm cleanup and recovery.
Residents who are themselves in need of food or other help after the storm can dial 2-1-1, the free information and referral line operated by United Way of Southwest Alabama, which connects callers with food, shelter, housing and utility assistance in Mobile County.
Key details
- What: Southwest Mobile County Chamber of Commerce annual Alabama vs. Auburn Food Drive
- Who benefits: Families of local elementary school students, through the Thanksgiving break
- What to give: Nonperishable food, or a $100 sponsorship that funds one family’s box
- Where: Tillman’s Corner Community Center, 5055 Carol Plantation Road
- Deadline: Wednesday, Nov. 18