(LOOTPRESS) – Local food pantries and organizations around the state are benefiting from the kindness and generosity of patients and staff from Cannabist’s five dispensaries during a time of year when donations are historically slower outside the holiday season.
In an effort to fight food insecurity in West Virginia, Cannabist’s five locations have donated thousands of pounds of food to organizations around the state over the last few months. The canned food drive kicked off earlier this year and continues amid great success.
Each Wednesday, customers who bring five cans of food also receive a 25% discount on their order, which is adding to the continued popularity of the program.
The initiative has been a huge hit, and the team is thrilled to be able to maintain their strong commitment to giving back to their local communities, especially in rural areas where needs are often dire.
Some highlights within the markets have included:
Williamstown:
To date, Cannabist Williamstown has donated five truckloads of canned food to Waverly Activity Center. Waverly Activity Center is a once beloved elementary school turned into a community building set out to help the community with various outreach programs.
The Cannabist Williamstown team aimed to donate enough canned food to fully stock the Waverly Activity Center, and the team has surpassed that. They have donated so many cans to the Waverly Activity Center that they are now able to help stock other food banks in the surrounding areas, including Wood and Pleasants County.
Huntington:
To date, Cannabist Huntington has donated 674 pounds of food to Facing Hunger Foodbank, a member of Feeding America, which distributes food to WV, OH, and KY. This donation has created 562 meals for the communities. According to Feeding America, 208,720 people are presently facing hunger in West Virginia and of them 50,680 are children.
Morgantown:
With the canned food that Cannabist Morgantown has collected, they have donated it to The Soup Opera, a remarkable organization located in Fairmont, WV, just 20 minutes south of Morgantown. The Soup Opera’s mission is simple yet profound: they provide three hot meals a day, 365 days a year, to anyone in need, without any questions asked.
Since February 7, Cannabist Morgantown’s contributions have amounted to an estimated $4,000 worth of canned goods for The Soup Opera.
After The Soup Opera was severely impacted by a flood last winter, these donations have been instrumental in enabling them to resume their operations at full capacity, thereby serving the surrounding communities with renewed vigor.
St. Albans:
Cannabist St. Albans has donated over two van loads of dry food to the Saint Albans Food Pantry.
This year the pantry has had a 150% increase in people needing food and Cannabist St. Albans is proud to support them.
Beckley:
Cannabist Beckley has been donating cans to Helping Hands Community Resource Center in Beckley. They have been coming weekly to pick up, filling the bed of a pickup truck each time.
Cannabist Beckley has also started to donate to Crab Orchard Baptist Church, which also runs another local food pantry with multiple weekly distributions. The organization now comes to Cannabist for a weekly pick-up as well.
