Between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2012, the national Feds Feed Families campaign took place. At the Department of the Interior (DOI), which includes the National Park Service (NPS) and Mesa Verde National Park, employees were asked to donate a minimum of five pounds of food. Last year, DOI employees collected over 14,200 pounds of food nationwide.
On Aug. 7, Mesa Verde National Park employees Coella Drenske and Ev Whitehead, took the first donation of food to the Good Samaritan Distribution Center in Cortez. That donation was 215 pounds. The lady working at the Center said, Come in! Come in! I prayed you would come today. I did, I prayed you would come today and here you are. God works in mysterious ways. We are out of food. When Coella and Ev returned to work, they shared their experience with all Mesa Verde employees.
By the end of the Feds Feeds Families Food Drive, Mesa Verde National Park employees had donated a total of 827 pounds of canned fruits, vegetables, grains, juices, baked goods and hygiene items to the Good Samaritan Distribution Center. The employees of Mesa Verde National Park were happy to lend a helping hand to those in need in our neighboring communities, stated Park Superintendent Cliff Spencer.
More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for Americas 397 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.