TR PHOTOS BY SUSANNA MEYER: Donna Ball with the American Legion Riders volunteered at the food drive at IowaWORKS Thursday morning and gave this veteran her box of food and three pounds of ground pork courtesy of JBS.
Marshalltown celebrated those who have served over the past week as Veterans Day approaches on Friday, and the Marshall County Veterans Affairs office decided to mark the occasion by giving away 100 boxes of food to veterans, families of ‘gold stars and widows on Thursday morning at the IowaWORKS building.
VA Director Kevin Huseboe helped organize the event, and several volunteers from organizations throughout the community, including the American Legion Riders, the Marshalltown Central Business District and JBS, pitched in to help. Huseboe said people were lining up to get their box even before the event officially started at 10 a.m.
“It’s going really well. I got here about a quarter to nine and there were already about 20 people,” Huseboe said. “It’s always an honor to do this. I don’t see the food issue ever going away.”
Huseboe said they generally receive 50 boxes of food from the Iowa Food Bank a month, 25 of which go to the VA clinic, and the other 25 are delivered to veterans through their van service. This month, however, they wanted to do something big for Veterans Day by giving away double that amount. In addition to the food provided by the Iowa Food Bank, JBS donated 360 pounds of ground pork, so with each box of food, the veterans also got three pounds of ground pork.
Along with the food they donated to IowaWORKS, Huseboe also planned to deliver 15 additional boxes of food to veterans who are not available to drive.
Marshalltown Central Business District Executive Director Deb Millizer volunteered during the IowaWORKS food drive Thursday morning and offered to carry this veteran’s food in her car.
“Basically, the whole deal today is a thank you for (his) service. That’s it,” Huseboe said. “Marshall County Veterans Affairs just wanted to say thank you to the veterans, widows and families of local Gold Stars for their service and what they have endured.”
Huseboe said one of his top priorities is making sure Gold Star families, or families who have lost a family member in the line of duty, are well taken care of, and he was glad to have the opportunity to serve them during the food draw. .
Food was distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, and many veterans visited IowaWORKS on Thursday despite the somewhat rainy weather. The room was filled with smiles and good will as the veterans chatted with each other and the volunteers as they collected their boxes of food, and Huseboe and the other volunteers had a chance to thank them all for their service.
——
Contact Susanna Meyer at 641-753-6611 or
smeyer@timesrepublican.com
TR PHOTOS BY SUSANNA MEYER: Donna Ball with the American Legion Riders volunteered at the food drive at IowaWORKS Thursday morning and gave this veteran her box of food and three pounds of ground pork courtesy of JBS.
Marshalltown Central Business District Executive Director Deb Millizer volunteered during the IowaWORKS food drive Thursday morning and offered to carry this veteran’s food in her car.
Last weekend, I wrote about Warren Mosler's argument that the Fed's rate hikes could be…
Last weekend, I he wrote on Warren Mosler's argument that the Fed's rate hikes could…
Last week, the chairman of the Fed, Jerome Powell said, "the disinflationary process has begun".…
Earlier this week, I joined Romaine Bostick and Scarlet Fu Bloomberg TV. The Congressional Budget…
Tomorrow morning, I'll be joining CNBC's Squawk Box to talk about a new effort tax…
Former Vice President Mike Pence talks about privatizing Social Security. The remarks came Thursday before…