PADUCAH, Ky. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its Paducah contractors are collecting food and personal hygiene items to help restock the shelves of Paducah area service organizations that help less fortunate people.

The national Feds Feed Families campaign, which runs June 1 through August 27, began locally with the collection of red, white, and blue cans of food that were fashioned into an American Flag display at the DOE Site Office near the entrance of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

“With Independence Day approaching, we thought this was a great way to show the patriotism of the workforce and our service to the taxpayers and citizens of our community,” said Jennifer Woodard, DOE Paducah Site Lead. “We’re proud of the work we do to improve the Paducah Site, and we’re thankful that we are able to contribute to a very worthy cause and give back to our community.”

DOE and its contractors (LATA Environmental Services of Kentucky, Swift & Staley, Babcock & Wilcox Conversion Services, and Pro2Serve) have workplace collection boxes. They also are donating money and holding fundraising lunches and baked goods sales. The campaign culminates in August with a final fundraising event and distribution of money and food to various charities in McCracken and Ballard counties.

Feds Feed Families has raised thousands of pounds of food staples and thousands of dollars for Martha’s Vineyard, Family Service Society, St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Salvation Army, River City Mission, and Paducah Cooperative Ministry since it started at the Paducah Site.

Led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Feds Feed Families campaign helps local food banks replenish supplies during summer. Since the program began in 2009, federal agencies and contractors have donated and collected 24.1 million pounds of food and other nonperishable items. The program helps communities in every state.