Canned food drive a success

Celebrity volunteers at the Boys and Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley collected hundreds of canned goods Tuesday afternoon for the Burbank Temporary Aid Center.

The second We CAN End Hunger Canned Food Drive! by Yum! Brands World Hunger Relief campaign is the first on the West Coast. The first event, held at company headquarters in Louisville, Ken., collected about 15,000 cans and Karen Sherman, project leader for World Hunger Relief, said she hoped to replicate that in Burbank.

"With this great venue at the Boys and Girls Club, we hope this will be a first annual event, rather than a first and only," Sherman said.

Instead of collecting food outside grocery or retail stores, Tuesday's event provided curbside service outside of the Boys and Girls Club for Burbank residents to drop off donations.

Ali Landry, one of the celebrity guests, approached Sherman about coordinating the event.

"She told me she would like to do something for World Hunger Relief in Los Angeles and celebrate the season of giving," Sherman said.

Landry and other celebrity guests served a Kentucky Fried Chicken meal to the children at the Boys and Girls Club Tuesday afternoon.

"Burbank Temporary Aid Center and the Boys and Girls Club share many of the same clients and it's important that we are helping people in their hour of need," said Barbara Howell, executive director of Burbank Temporary Aid Center. "This event draws attention to the fact that people need both food and quality care for their children."

Los Angeles Regional Food Bank volunteers were there to help count, collect and deliver the canned food. The bank got a $1,000 donation at the end of the event, in honor of Landry. The Boys and Girls Club and Burbank Temporary Aid Center each received checks for $2,500.

Burbank Temporary Aid Center, which serves about 9,000 people, or 10% of Burbank's population, has already started to distribute food for Thanksgiving celebrations, Howell said.

The center, which is not licensed for food preparation, encourages families to create their own traditions at home. Turkeys, however, are in short supply.

"We are very aware all nonprofits are struggling and we appreciate any help and support the community gives us," Howell said. "We are very fortunate to operate in a community like Burbank and know other areas may not feel the same support."

The Boys and Girls Club is hosting its annual Thanksgiving dinner for its children and their families at 6 p.m. Friday at 2244 N. Buena Vista St.