10th Annual Basket of Love Donation to take place Dec. 16 & 17

Over the course of a couple of days in mid-December, the Barrett Elementary gymnasium will start to fill with pallets of fresh fruits, vegetables, canned goods, dried goods and more.

It's all for the 10th Annual Food Basket of Love Giveaway, which will take place Friday, December 16 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and again on Saturday, December 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Barrett Elementary. Organized by Homestead native Joe McCain through Homestead’s Park Place African Methodist Church, the annual donation drive provides area families with seven days worth of food.

“It’s not just for whoever we consider needy. It’s for everyone,” McCain insists. “Just come and get something that will bring a connection and some type of fellowship. I encourage people when they come for a box and they have a few neighbors around, get something for them. Drop it off and it’ll give you an opportunity to connect.”

Always active in the community, McCain decided to put together a food drive ten years ago. He used his connections as a salesman and buyer for a wholesale company to contact major food providers throughout the United States.

“We reached out to companies like Dole, which supplied us with bananas. Sunkist supplies us with the oranges,” he said. “Several large apple-growing companies in Washington state and New York state donated the bagged apples. Chiquita has given us an awesome price on pineapples.”

The baskets have expanded to a sizeable donation.

“I wanted to create a box that had fresh fruit, vegetables, canned goods and dried goods,” he said. “It came out to be like a 25-pound box of food.”

It was going to start out at 100 boxes, but word got out and it quickly expanded to 650 boxes that first year. This year, McCain anticipates anywhere between 3,500 to 4,000 boxes being distributed. The retail value of everything that’s been donated over the course of the 10 years that the Food Basket of Love has been running is over $1 million. Last year, they reached families in 22 different communities, ranging from Homestead, Munhall, and West Homestead to neighbors in Duquesne and West Mifflin, to across the river to Rankin and Braddock, and even further beyond to Clairton and Jeannette.

“I can’t believe it’s been 10 years,” McCain said. “It’s a blessing through God.”

It’s a community endeavor. Steel Valley has been a partner from the start. Athletic director Shawn McCallister rounds up student-athletes to come down and help unload the trucks.  Steel Valley basketball coach Dale Chapman and Superintendent Edward Wehrer have also been longtime supporters, as have community members like Betty Esper, Joe Ducar, Buddy Hobart and countless others.

Those interested in volunteering can stop by Wednesday, December 14 to help with the preparations, reach out through the Park Place African Methodist Church on Facebook via facebook.com/parkplace.amechurch, or simply stop by to lend a hand on Friday and Saturday. No reservations or prior arrangements are needed to pick up a basket.