"Food drive organizer honored as collection grows"

HERMITAGE – It all started with a parade in Canada.

Hermitage residents Lynette Hartenstein and her husband Geoff witnessed volunteers collecting non-perishable foods from parade-goers on the sidelines and Lynette thought, “Why can’t we do this in our town?”

Hartenstein is the Community Food Warehouse of Mercer County’s Food Champion of 2017 for organizing the food drive at the Hermitage Light Parade for the past 14 years.

During that time, the parade, now in its 20th year, has collected literally tons of food for area residents in need — donations benefit the Community Food Warehouse of Mercer County in Sharon.

When Hartenstein decided to hold a food drive, she brought the idea to a group of parents experienced in fundraising, the Hermitage YMCA swimming team.

The Hartensteins had four children on the team: Ryan, now 28; Marle, now 24; and twins Kevin and Kyle, now 20.

“It really is just a family event for us,” Lynette said. “It’s just been so fun and I’m so pleased.”

Lynette pitched the idea to the City of Hermitage Light Parade Committee who embraced the idea, she said.

That was 14 years ago.

“The fundraising committee (swim team) was very active and we used this as a learning activity for the kids,” Lynette said.

For more than a decade, Lynette, Geoff, their children and the Sea Otters built a float for the Hermitage Light Parade.

Every year, members of the swim team, from 5 to 18 years old, rode on the float and were trailed by parents.

Those parents would have three different jobs: to push a grocery cart, to grab donations from people along the parade route and fill the cart. Once the cart was filled, the food was placed onto the back of the semi-truck.

The donations dropped off, reaching an all-time low of 380 pounds in 2016.

In comparison, in 2009, over 4,000 pounds of non-perishables were collected, dropping to 3,000 pounds in 2010 and 763 pound in 2013.

Lynette thought they needed to try a different approached, as she noticed there were not as many parade-goers as in past years.

Thus, the creation of “Truck Full of Hope.”

Lynette asked Mel Grata Chevrolet if they could use their showroom for two weeks prior to the parade to collect donations.

“It’s exciting,” Lynette said. “When we approached Mel Grata hoping for (Truck Full of Hope) to be a couple days and they said, ‘Let’s do it for the whole month.’ That just got it started.”

The food drive should have been named “Trucks full of Hope,” because, so far, close to three pickup trucks have already been filled.

“This is so overwhelming,” Lynette said. “That’s why the connection with Mel Grata was so great.”

Community Food Warehouse personnel said that the Seventh Day Adventist Church in West Middlesex was getting ready to unload two-and-a-half more truckloads into Mel Grata Chevrolet’s showroom.

“When you ask people in this community to give, they come through,” Mimi Prada, Community Warehouse public relations manager said. “I’ve witnessed it.”

Follow and like Melissa Klaric on Twitter and Facebook @HeraldKlaric.