Pictured from left are: Rachelle Garret-Butler, program director of Citrus County Blessings, Donna Hayes, Beth Tarnowski, Rick Jeroski, Shirley Gamache, Bev Kelly, Jill Jeroski and Christina Reed, executive director of Citrus County Blessings.

On May 25, the packing crew from West Citrus Elks Lodge arrived at Citrus County Blessings to pack weekend food for children. This time, however, along with packing 178 bags of weekend food, the crew brought a donation for $2,000.
The donation was made possible by using the Spotlight grant from the Grand Lodge of Elks.
The West Citrus Elks Lodge has two groups of volunteers that pack food. The food is sent home with the children on Friday to be sure that they have enough to eat over the weekend.

Citrus County Blessings has received a $20,000 donation from its supporter Suncoast Credit Union.
Blessings is the county’s backpack meal program for local food-insecure children. Its mission is to provide meals to local children in need through donors, partners and volunteers.
“We are incredibly thankful to have the support of Suncoast Credit Union for our Blessings program,” said Christina Reed, executive director of Citrus County Blessings. “As we all are experiencing, prices are rising across the board for food, gas, etc. Receiving this donation from Suncoast Credit Union is extremely important in helping us feed these children.”

Suncoast Credit Union has been helping to support the Citrus County Blessings program for more than seven years.