Officials with the Food Bank of Iowa say they’re heading into a lean donation season. The Food Bank’s Lindsay Pingel says that’s why the annual state employees’ food drive comes at just the right time.

“The summer months, with school being out, donations just tend to be down,” Pingel says. “And for us, we really don’t have a slow season. People are hungry every single day of the year.”

Last year state employees donated $75,000 in cash to go along with semi-loads of donated food. “This food drive we look forward to every single year,” Pingel says. “It brings in so many pounds and so many contributions with donations and we can really use it to get us through those summer months.”

State agencies have team competitions and in past years trophies have been awarded to those who bring in the largest amount of donations. This is the 29th annual state employees’ food drive and it kicked off today.

The donations go to the Food Bank of Iowa, which serves non-profit food-distribution organizations in 42 of Iowa’s 99 counties.