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6 Independent & Free Press,Thursday, April 15, 2010 OPINION A full plate The shelves are full of food at the two local food banks this week, thanks to the effort over the weekend by volunteer groups. The Scouts/Guides and Calvinists groups held their annual spring food drive for Acton Foodshare, collecting 6,600 pounds of food and $775. The Georgetown Lions Club hosted a twoday full breakfast, with admission being a donation to the Georgetown Bread Basket. The two-day event, the first for the service club, collected 3,400 pounds of food and more than $1,000. But while the shelves are full today, that will only be a temporary situation as Acton Foodshare's chairperson Arlene Humphreys points out that between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds of food are used each month at her food bank. "It has been a difficult year for many due to job losses and more people have had to use the food bank," she said. Despite the rebound in economy this year, the need for food banks will never go away. These food banks are self-sustaining and rely on the generosity of donations and volunteer support from their local communities. They have a full plate to keep the less fortunate from going hungry. *** Saturday is Halton Hills Community Clean Up Day and local residents will be out to give this town a spring cleaning. "Some people think that the litter is something the Town should look after but that is simply impossible. The cost would be out of the ball park," said Litter Free Task Force Chair, Councillor Jane Fogal. "Virtually all communities rely on volunteers to do an annual community cleanup. It is very labour intensive picking up candy wrappers, cigarette butts and water bottles. Thank goodnes we have local heroes who willingly take on this job." These community heroes could be expending their energies on more important things-- note the editorial above-- if people took responsibility for their own litter all year round! 905-873-0301 Publisher: Ken Nugent General manager: Steve Foreman (sforeman@independentfreepress.com) Retail advertising manager: Cindi Campbell (ccampbell@independentfreepress.com) Managing editor: John McGhie (jmcghie@independentfreepress.com) Distribution manager: Nancy Geissler (ngeissler@independentfreepress.com) Classifieds Kristie Pells (classified@independentfreepress.com) Accounting Rose Marie Gauthier Editorial Cynthia Gamble: News editor (cgamble@independentfreepress.com) Ted Brown: Photography (tbrown@independentfreepress.com) Lisa Tallyn: Staff writer (ltallyn@independentfreepress.com) Eamonn Maher: Staff writer/sports (emaher@independentfreepress.com) WEB POLL RESULTS Earth Day/Week is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month. Do you believe the various efforts to `go green' over the past two decades have made a profound difference to our planet's health? · Yes (26%) · No (64%) · Not sure (10%) Steve Nease Acton Foodshare thanks supporters for spring drive Dear editor, Acton Foodshare would like to thank the community of Acton for their generous donations of food and money during the past weekend's Annual Scout/Guide/ Calvinist/ Cadet Food Drive. We received 6,660 pounds of food and approximately $775. We presently use 4,000 to 4,500 pounds of food per month, so these donations will really help. It has been a difficult year for many due to job losses and more people have had to use the food bank. Special thanks of course go to the Scouting, Guiding and Bethel youth groups who assisted us before, during and after the food drive. Some of these were Acton High School, Bethel Christian Community Church, Home Hardware, Tim Horton's, Jon Hurst, Maple Lodge, R/M Construction and all the businesses in Acton who put up posters. We also appreciate the coverage from The New Tanner and The Independent & Free Press. Go to www.independentfreepress.com Letters to the editor The shelves are full and we will be better able to assist those who use the food bank. Thank you. Arlene Humphreys, Acton Foodshare Chairperson George Pub for their valued support. We should all be proud to live in such a caring community; where people really do help people. Jack Ruck and Linda Dilks Food drive organizers Georgetown Lions Club Lions impressed by community turnout Dear editor, The members of the Lions Club of Georgetown would like to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who came out to our Pancake Breakfast Food Drive this past weekend in support of the Georgetown Bread Basket. With the increasing demand on the Bread Basket, the Lions Club decided to help out and give back to the community at the same time. The Lions offered a free, full breakfast to those who came out to the Lions Hall with a donation for the Bread Basket. The generosity of our community was overwhelming. The Lions served over 500 breakfasts on Saturday and Sunday, collecting 3,400 lbs of food and over $1,000. A special thank you to The Independent & Free Press, Tim Horton's, The Carpet Barn and the St. Closing remarks Dear editor, The Power Zone Fitness Facility management would like to thank all of our loyal, faithful members and dedicated, energetic, motivating staff who have made this the up-scale family fitness facility that Georgetown needed for the past six years. It is with heavy hearts that we announce that the Power Zone will be closing its doors. We would also like to thank all of the local companies who have supported us over the years with partnership agreements and fundraising sponsorship. An extended thank you to The Independent & Free Press for always covering our fundraising events in a professional manner. Yours in Health and Fitness Bruce and Kellie Hayward Letters to the editor policy Letters must include an address and daytime telephone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters should not exceed 150 words and may be edited for content and/or length. E-mail: jmcghie@independentfreepress.com Mail or drop off: Independent & Free Press, 280 Guelph St., Unit 29, Georgetown, ON., L7G 4B1. The Independent & Free Press The Independent & Free Press is published Tuesday and Thursday and is one of several Metroland Media Group Ltd. community newspapers. Editorial and advertising content of The Independent & Free Press is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.