This year’s Walk & Knock event, which was held in a “drive and drop” format, brought in more than 104,000 pounds of food donations and raised over $90,000.
It was the second year in a row that the nation’s largest local one-day food drive asked participants to drop off donations rather than have the items picked up from front porches due to safety concerns.
“Despite a cold, rainy day and a busy holiday season, people made time to help others,” said Tom Knappenberger, the president of Walk & Knock, in a news release. “This community continues to amaze me with its generosity.”
Countywide, there were 10 sites staffed by 200 volunteers, as well as more than 100 youth who braved the cold weather to wave signs at the sites to encourage drivers to make donations.
The food and financial donations will provide more than 446,000 meals, according to the release, or enough to feed 1,000 people three meals a day for five months.
“I dropped by all 10 sites and it was heartwarming to see the lines of cars waiting to donate, and our folks loading bags of groceries into tote boxes and then into the donated semi-trailers,” stated Knappenberger. “The outpouring of folks and the grit of our volunteers reaffirmed my belief in the goodness of our community.”
Walk & Knock sent more than 200,000 postcards to businesses and residents in Clark County this year, which was a substitute for the traditional grocery bags used in prior years.
Over its 37 year history, Walk & Knock has collected more than 8.8 million pounds of food, which is valued at $15.8 million. Next year’s drive will take place on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022.
Walk & Knock is an all-volunteer organization made up of area Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis, the Clark County Amateur Radio Club, area Boy and Girl Scout troops, local trucking companies, and church and school groups, alongside hundreds of other volunteers.
The Clark County Interservice Walk & Knock is a non-profit charitable organization.
The lead sponsors this year included Riverview Community Bank, Cost Less Auto Parts, McDonalds, Bank of America, Standard Insurance and iQ Credit Union.
Knappenberger said it’s not too late to donate. Those interested can use PayPal through the group’s website at walkand knock.org or mail a check to P.O. Box 353, Vancouver, WA, 98666.
