Pocatello police handcuff hunger

Pocatello Police Patrol Officer Akilah Lacey said officers want to serve the community in many different ways. He said that’s why he thought of a way to have their own kind of community service project.

Handcuff Hunger is Lacey’s idea. He said he wanted to gather food to fight hunger, but also wanted those who donated to get more than a good feeling. So he contacted Outer Limits Fun Zone owner Stacy Miller, and the result was thousands of canned goods over a seven-hour period.

“We’re giving tokens for cans, and you can either take those tokens and play them or you can leave with those tokens. However you want to do it,” said Miller. “We’re just all about getting the cans in here and getting the community in here and getting people involved.”

It’s important to remember to check the expiration dates of any goods donated to the Idaho Foodbank. The Foodbank can’t accept goods that are expired.

Lacey also said this gives the public a good opportunity to come and meet police officers in a neutral setting, where nothing bad is happening.

“Once we’re out of uniform we’re just normal people,” said Lacey. “We care about our community, we care about our families and we all know people that are in need. We just want everyone to kind of see us in a different light. We’re not just here to write tickets.”

Lacey said the goal was to get $2,000 worth of canned goods. He also said there was a lot of community support, including from each player on the Idaho State University football team, who donated 10 cans each.