The creators of the “Yes We Can” food drive announced Tuesday an event in eastern Iowa over the weekend was a record breaker. On Saturday, volunteers took in 7,700 pounds of donated canned food from grocery shoppers at Fareway Stores in Cedar Rapids.
Yes We Can Co-Creator Ricky Davis told KCRG-TV that the total breaks the previous record of 7,000 pounds set back in June. “Eastern Iowans, they are so wonderful, so generous,” Davis said. “We’ve been doing these kinds of drives for 20 years. We do them in California, still. We get more food at a small Fareway store (in Iowa) than we do at a large California store. The hearts of Iowans show through.”
Davis started the Yes We Can food drive with his wife in California in 1994. The two brought the effort to Eastern Iowa in 2011. Davis said his group sets up outside local Fareways two times each summer. Volunteers ask shoppers to grab a couple extra cans of food while picking up groceries. Mission of Hope in Cedar Rapids is one of the non-profits that receives a portion of the donated cans. Director Martin Dwyer said the help is much appreciated.
“Summertime is one of our highest need times of the year,” Dwyer told KCRG. “It is the time kids are home from school and our food pantry is hit hard all summer long.” Yes We Can will be delivering the cans on Saturday.