Celebrate National Canned Food Month by giving to local food banks

If you need a reason to help out local kitchens, February is National Canned Food Month, celebrating the food pantry’s best friend.

Not only do canned goods have a long shelf life, nutrients are preserved in vegetables, contrary to what you may have been told.

Places like Feed my Sheep in Gulfport are always in need of canned goods, since the kitchen feeds hundreds of people in need each day.

Feed my Sheep Director David Lion says if not for canned donations, the kitchen would be hard-pressed to meet daily demands. “So, in feeding about 600 or 700 meals a day, which is the current number we’re doing, we go through a lot of canned foods. We try to do a completely balanced and nutritious meal each day. In feeding that many people we use a lot of the number-10 cans, which are the big gallon-sized cans, and it takes 36 to 40 of those.”

Lion says anyone who’d like to donate may bring their goods directly to the kitchen on 19^th Street next to the train tracks.