Alachua County Commissioner Rodney J. Long will be holding a press conference tomorrow,  Friday October 29, 2010, at 11:15 am in the Grace Knight Conference Room  located in the Alachua County Administration Building(12 SE 2nd Street, Gainesville).  At the press conference, he will speak to the needs of the hungry in Alachua County.   

Long is spearheading the annual Alachua County Commission sponsored  "Strike Out Hunger" Food Drive to help fill the shelves of food pantries of local community agencies who in turn give to those citizens needing help.  The food drive takes place on Monday, November 8, 2010, from 7 am. to 7 pm. at the Citizen Field parking area (on the corner of Waldo Road and 8th Avenue, in Gainesville). The Alachua County Board of County Commission set aside the month of November to bring awareness of those citizens experiencing hunger daily.  They cited that over 51,000 Alachua County citizens live in poverty and 8,000 of those are children.

Long will be giving details concerning the many organizations that will be collecting food in the week prior to the November 8th food drive as well as details about the Food Security Summit taking place on November 10, 2010.

“As the holidays approach this is a particularly appropriate time of year to remind ourselves of those among us who rely on these organizations to meet this most basic human need,”  Long said in speaking of the food drive.   

For more information, contact Mark Sexton at the Alachua County Communications Office at 252-374-5204.