Rotary, SCHS Kids Haul in Food for Charity

Thirty families and counting this year will get a Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings thanks to San Clemente Sunrise Rotary and kids from San Clemente High School.

Sharon Cooney of the Rotary said club members worked the door at Ralphs on Camino de los Mares Saturday, in tandem with students in SCHS' Interact Club at the Albertsons by the high school, collected 50 boxes of food -- meals for 30 local families.

"It was a really nice weekend," Cooney said Monday. "We have a lot of generous people. [The students] did a good 25 percent of what we collected."

Cooney said the Rotary and Interact clubs will be out again from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, to collect more food. The students will stay at the Ave. Pico Albertsons, while Rotary Club members will move to the new El Camino Real Ralphs.

"Usually the weekend closer to Thanksgiving, we collect more," she said. "We plan to feed over 100 families with this food drive."

Last year, the Rotary was able to feed 120.

Volunteers will organize and distribute the meals to families before Thanksgiving, according to a release from the Rotary. Charities benefiting the holiday food drive include Camp Pendleton Marines, Laura’s House Shelter for Women and their Children and the Family Assistance Ministries.

Want to help out? Here is a partial list of food items needed:

• Frozen Turkeys
• Gravy (canned or packaged)
• Canned Cranberry Sauce
• Boxed Stuffing Mix
• Brown Onions
• Canned or Fresh Yams
• Potatoes
• Canned Peas, Green Beans or Corn
• Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Fresh Apples and Oranges
• Canned Fruit
• Pumpkin Pie Filling
• Boxed Pie Crust Mix
• Evaporated Milk
• Corn Bread Mix
• Dessert Mixes and Nuts