Each spring, the combined Rotary Clubs of the Morongo Basin hold a food drive with Rotarians posted at area supermarkets collecting food donations. This year, because of Covid concerns, the drive focused on collecting monetary donations that would be used to purchase the food. The remarkable effort resulted in the Morongo Basin Rotary Clubs raising close to $6,000 in the “virtual’ food drive last month. Tuesday night, representatives of the Yucca Valley Sunset, Joshua Tree, and Twentynine Palms Rotary Clubs met to discuss how to distribute the funds. Six local food pantries had responded and shared their needs:
Alex Roth Memorial Food Pantry at Oasis Community Church (6631 Utah Trail, Twentynine Palms)
The Way Station (PO Box 613 Joshua Tree)
Community Food Pantry Morongo Basin (6336 Hallee Road Joshua Tree)
Food-4-Life Ministry (72603 Juanita Drive Twentynine Palms)
Morongo Basin Arch (PO Box 1028 29 Palms)
29 Palms Community Food Pantry (PO Box 782 Twentynine Palms)
The Rotary Clubs will donate four $250 gift cards from Stater Bros. to each of the food pantries to be used as they need. A drive-through presentation of those cards will be held Monday, May 17 from 6 to 6:30 p.m. in the lower parking lot at Copper Mountain College (near the bus stop). The pantries will be assigned a time to drive though, collect their cards and take a photo. The public is welcome to attend.
