Local student holds annual food drive

Even as a preschooler, Dylan Houck understood there was a way to help people in need by collecting food for the hungry.

Now more than a decade later, Dylan, the son of Jackie and Thomas Houck of Gap, continues that tradition each spring by holding a Helping Hunger Food Drive to benefit the Chester County Food Bank (CCFB).

Jackie recalls Dylan's first food drive, which was the impetus for the annual effort. "We had a power outage, and Dylan's dad and I were talking about people losing food in their refrigerator," she said. "Dylan said they could just go to Walmart and buy more (food), but I told him not everyone can afford that."

She said that 4-year-old Dylan was upset and crying and woke up the same way the next morning. "I had a conversation with him and told him we could (collect) food and take it to the food bank," said Jackie.

"It was a very small and moderate food drive," Dylan added, reporting that he collected 400 pounds of food over two weeks.

Dylan, now 14 and an eighth-grader at West Fallowfield Christian School, has continued the drive ever since, donating more than 60,000 pounds of food to the CCFB.

"For the 10th anniversary last year, Dylan wanted to collect 10,000 pounds of food, but he got 13,099 pounds," Jackie said, noting that Dylan is often joined at the food drives by his younger brothers, Wesley and Tyler.

This year's Helping Hunger Food Drive began on April 7 and ran through May 8. On April 26, Dylan had a food drive for the second consecutive year at the Parkesburg Grocery Outlet, where he asked shoppers to donate items like peanut butter and jelly and snack food.

"People came in and purchased things, and we were able to do a shopping trip while we were there (using donation money)," explained Dylan. "We filled lots of boxes, and Grocery Outlet donated as well."

On the previous weekend, Dylan and his brothers held a food drive at Dutch-Way Farm Market in Gap. There was also a food collection bin during the food drive at E&E General Contracting in Gap.

Food collected from this year's drive - a total of 19,360 pounds - was delivered to the CCFB on May 8. "I work at Keller Williams in Exton, and we have a 'Red Day.' It's where the agents go and serve in different ways," Jackie explained. "The last three years we have partnered with the food drive, and we deliver the food on 'Red Day.' There are agents who will take the day off and collect food, and they help us box it up and deliver it to the food bank."

Dylan pointed out that the food drive is always held in spring in anticipation of the summer months. "We are basically fueling (families) up for summer," he said. "A lot of kids are part of a lunch program at school. They eat breakfast and lunch every day, and going into the summer, they don't have those kinds of programs. They might not even eat for a day. Unless the food bank (provides) things to people, these kids will not eat."

Jackie noted that the goal of the food drive is not only to collect food items, but to educate people about the need for food in the community. "The beautiful thing about Dylan's hard work is not only to feed people but to educate people," she stated. "People (right around you) may be food insecure."

"There are people you know who may be wondering where the next meal will come from," Dylan added.

"Food banks are in desperate need this year," Jackie stated. "Costs are increasing, and the needs are greater and there are a lot of local food banks that have little to next to nothing. People are hungry, and we need to feed them."

For more information about the Helping Hunger Food Drive, email helpinghungerfooddrive@gmail.com. More information about the Chester County Food Bank is available at http://www.chestercountyfoodbank.org.