Food Drive Shatters Records With $12,000 In Monetary Donations

The Sullivan Chamber of Commerce, KTUI Radio, Missouri Possum Radio and Sullivan Independent News Rooftop Food Drive was held on Friday, November 3, with more than $12,000 in monetary donations and 6,000 food items.

James Bartle, Sullivan Independent News/Missouri Possum Radio and John Tripp, Puroclean, were atop the Meramec Community Mission, 200 West Main Street, waiting to come down once a 14-foot cargo trailer was full of food and or monetary donations. 

Sam Scott and Mike Bittner of KTUI; Amanda Lindemann, Sullivan Chamber Director; Kecia Philpot, Chamber president and Sarah Newbanks, Chamber board member, were in the grandstand on Main Street,  assisting those bringing in items.

Sullivan firefighters, Chief Eric Lewis and Christine Dace of the Meramec Community Mission, along with mission volunteers, helped stack food in the cargo trailer as it was donated.

“I felt this was amazing to see, for the first time in my position, the community come together like this for the food drive,” said Lindemann. “I was blown away by the support.”

Some of the big boosts in food donations was in part to Sullivan Police School Resource Officers, who collected around 3,400 food items. Spring Bluff School donated 1,200 items, St. Anthony Catholic School with 585 food items and kindergarten and first grade students held a penny war raising some $785 in cash donations.

“We saw a lot of new faces this year who made some incredible donations and among those were the schools who really came through,” said James Bartle. “When SROs dropped off the cans collected at schools and when St. Anthony students walked from the school to the food drive downtown along the sidewalk it was awesome. We are very blessed in this community to see the support for the 27th annual Roof Top Food Drive.”

Bartle also praised the assistance once again from Sullivan firefighters who helped get Bartle and Tripp on the roof of the mission, but also loaded donations as they arrived.

“Sullivan firefighters and Chief Eric Lewis always help us with this drive and are a big part in the overall success every year,” Bartle said.