Last October, the community of Decatur pulled together for the 13^th annual WSOY Community Food Drive and raised over 1 million pounds of food and money to help restock the shelves of the Decatur Catholic Charities’ food pantry. The fall community effort began in 2002 with the collection of 35,000 pounds of food and the event has grown substantially over the years.

Once again Decatur area schools competed for cash prizes – which are donated by area businesses – to see who can collect the most food. St. Patrick's School won the top prize by gathering more than 100,000 pounds of food and cash donations.

“While the WSOY Community Food Drive continues to grow each year, so does the need,” stated Robin Murray, community services supervisor at Catholic Charities.  Murray said the organization sees more families looking for help. “Our community has had some rough luck with business and job losses, but it's amazing how the people of our area come together to make a difference in the lives of people who are suffering,'' she said.

The Decatur Catholic Charities’ food pantry distributes 30,000 to 40,000 pounds of food each month. The food and cash donations from this event will help Catholic Charities provide assistance to thousands of food insecure families in the community.

“Catholic Charities extends a huge thank you to the entire community for their monumental support of the 13^th annual WSOY Community Food Drive. Our sincere gratitude extends to all of the organizers, corporate sponsors, individuals, organizations, restaurants, community volunteers and all the Macon County schools, who worked to make this event a huge success. It is obvious that we have a very caring community,” said Marie Rademacher, Area Director for Decatur Catholic Charities.