Dear Editor,

The community is invited to join in the Love Your Neighbor Cereal Drive during the month of August to benefit the Nederland Food Pantry. It is being organized by the Nederland Community Presbyterian Church. Residents, businesses, civic and philanthropic organizations are encouraged to join the drive to meet or exceed the goal of collecting 100 boxes of nutritious cereal to help feed those in need in the Nederland community.

“The commandment ‘Love thy neighbor’ is a well-known principle found in all Abrahamic religions, including Judaism (Leviticus 19:18), Christianity (Mark 12:31), and Islam (Quran 5:32),” said Nederland Community Presbyterian Church Pastor Rev. Zach Hancock. “We hope everyone will join us in this effort as we show a little love to our neighbors.”

During the month of August, donations of boxes of cereal will be accepted at the Nederland Community Presbyterian Church, located on North Jefferson Street at the Peak to Peak Highway, during Sunday worship and fellowship from 10 a.m. to noon, at the B&F Mountain Market where customers can purchase cereal and deposit in a bin at the front of the store, and at the Nederland Community Library. The cereal will be donated to the Nederland Food Pantry for distribution to those in need in our community.

In addition to providing a cereal collection point, B&F Mountain Market is also helping to sponsor the drive through a donation. “We recognize that there are many families in our community who are in need, and we are happy to help this drive to make sure that residents, especially our local kids, get a good breakfast to start their day, which is particularly important when school resumes in August,” said B&F Mountain Market owner Dan Ball. The market features a sale on different brands of cereal each week, making it easy for customers to save money and donate one or more boxes of cereal at the same time.

“Your support in the cereal drive will help the Nederland Food Pantry in our ability to provide for our community members in need,” shared Nederland Food Pantry Executive Director Betty Abel. “By removing the need to purchase cereal, we can refocus on purchasing a wider variety of nutritious foods for our community. Your kindness directly impacts the lives of individuals and families who rely on our food pantry. Thank you for your generosity and continued support!”

At the end of the drive, the donated cereal boxes will be lined up domino-style and the public will be invited to witness the celebration as the boxes cascade in a river of compassion, demonstrating the community’s devotion to the Love Your Neighbor concept.

If your organization or business would like to join the Love Your Neighbor Food Drive, contact Margie Yansura at mywordsmith@bellsouth.net.

Margie Yansura

Nederland