Idaho Falls raises over $13,000 for Community Food Basket in 25-hour “America 250” fundraiser

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — To celebrate Independence Day and commemorate America 250, The Community Food Basket and City of Idaho Falls set an ambitious goal to raise $25,000 in 25 hours. While the final tally fell short of the initial target, organizers and volunteers are calling the event a major victory for local families.

Donors across the region stepped up to contribute a total of $13,458.53. Every dollar raised will go directly to providing food for those in need over the summer.

"People are hungry all year long," Ariel Jackson, the Executive Director for the Community Food Basket, said. "And summers are tough. There's not a lot of food drives happening. There's a lot of people traveling, and kids are home eating breakfast and lunch, and people's food bills tend to triple. And so we really needed to bring a truck of food in at this time of year so that we can get make sure those kids are fed, make sure our seniors are fed in their homes, and that families can have dinner together."

When schools close for the summer, families lose access to free or reduced-price school meal programs, causing household grocery expenses to skyrocket. To combat this, the Community Food Basket is leveraging the fundraiser's proceeds to purchase a truckload of food so they can provide for a community in need.

The impact of these community donations will stretch far. Jackson says that every dollar that comes in can turn into $4.80 worth of food.

"This was our second sort of drive that we've done around 24 hours," Jackson said. "This community always amazes us. When it seems like something is impossible, we ask, and people band together and really support what we do here, which is making sure bellies are full."

For those who missed the 25-hour window, the Community Food Basket is still accepting donations and non-perishable food items throughout the summer. For more information, click HERE.

The next big food drive they have coming up is in October, where they will try to fill their warehouse with 100,000 pounds of food for the Holiday season.