Do you have brown paper grocery bags?  Do you want to help?

Banta Feeds is in need of people who can save their grocery bags.  We prefer to use brown paper bags to pack our donation collections in during our neighborhood food drives.  They are sturdier than the plastic ones and better for our environment.

If you could save your brown paper grocery bags for us, we can pick them up.  We would also then consider you one of our valuable donors.  We can’t do this without you.

Our volunteers give to the mission of Banta Feeds in different ways.  We have people who distribute fliers in neighborhoods on volunteer Saturdays.  Some volunteers serve as leadership in our organization.  And this is another way that you can help right now.

If you are interested in donating your bags to Banta Feeds Food Drives, please contact Christine by sending an email to hisick77@gmail.com, or by calling  (219) 840-0797.

Thank you Valparaiso.

Hilltop, start your engines!

One of the most treasured neighborhoods in the city of Valparaiso will be the first site of a Banta Feeds food drive in 2011.  Our outdoor neighborhood drives start in May, and we’re going to let Hilltop set the pace for the season.

Each household of the Hilltop neighborhood will be asked to donate at least one non-perishable food item, toiletry item or package/can of pet food to the drive.  If they can donate more, it will be greatly appreciated.  The food and toiletry items collected will benefit the Hilltop Food Pantry in Valparaiso.  The pet food collected will benefit the Kibble Kitchen Pet Food Pantry in Portage.

The Hilltop Neighborhood Food Drive will be held from May 19-22.  The Banta Feeds donations container will be located by the road in Will Park off of Morgan Boulevard on the west end of the neighborhood between the hours of 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

The Hilltop Neighborhood House will also be hosting an indoor donations container in the lobby of their facility.  They are located at 460 S. College Avenue.  Their doors will be open to accept donations during normal business hours.

The Banta Feeds volunteers will be distributing fliers announcing the drive in the Hilltop neighborhood on the morning of May 14.  If you would like to volunteer for this or future drives, contact Banta Feeds volunteer coordinator, April Scott at (219) 616-5212 or email aprildryfuss@comcast.net.

We look forward to starting this year’s food drive chase in the Hilltop neighborhood.  It’s almost time for the green flag.  See you in May, Hilltop.

Banta Feeds is proud to announce our new partnership with the Porter County Kibble Kitchen and Pet Pantry, Inc. They are a brand new non-profit organization located in Portage, IN that was created to serve our local families struggling to take care of their pets in these tough economic times.

The new pet food pantry was founded by Michelle Duca.  She is a longtime local animal rescue and needs volunteer.

The mission of the Kibble Kitchen is to keep pet-owners suffering from economic crisis from relinquishing their pets by providing free pet food until the pet-owner is once again able to afford to care for their pet.

Banta Feeds will be collecting pet food during our neighborhood food drives to benefit this new pantry in our area.

Learn more about the Kibble Kitchen at www.thekibblekitchen.com.

VALPARAISO — Banta Feeds has a newly assembled leadership team and a new strategy for its neighborhood food drives as it gears up for another season.

The grassroots community food drive organization is in its third year of service to the city of Valparaiso.

It started as a one-person effort in February 2009 and is now a full-fledged community group made up of city and Porter County residents.

The organization has open volunteer opportunities.

There area a few openings on the Saturday Distribution Team.

The food drive team spends a couple of hours on a Saturday morning once every other month to distribute fliers in the neighborhoods where the organization will be facilitating food drives.

Banta Feeds also has an opening for one more food drive coordinator.

This is the volunteer who serves during the days of the food drive (Friday-Sunday), picking up the food from the food drive container, storing it and delivering it to its prospective destination when the food drive is done.

Anyone interested in volunteering for Banta Feeds Food Drives should e-mail April Scott, volunteer coordinator, at aprildryfuss@comcast.net or call 840-0797.

To learn more about Banta Feeds, visit www.bantafeeds.com.

On the road again. Banta Feeds is on the road again. Our food drive organization is heading eastward for the 2^nd Jefferson Park Neighborhood Food Drive in Valparaiso.

Jefferson Park is nestled between Glendale Boulevard and Evans Avenue from the north to south, and between Lind Lane and Silhavy Road from the west to east. The neighborhood took part in a Banta Feeds food drive in 2009 when our organization had just started its work, and after raising 65 bags of donations, they are getting their second chance at becoming the 2010 neighborhood food drive champion of our city. Our current champions are the Dravininkas and Glendale neighborhoods who raised 96 bags of donations in July. Jefferson Park can beat them, but only if the entire neighborhood works as a team, and everybody pitches in something.

Jefferson Park was nominated to take part in a food drive this year by one of its residents, Linda Berner. Berner entered her nomination into the Banta Feeds Nominate Your Neighborhood Contest that we held in the spring. She is excited about her neighborhood getting another chance, and will be wearing her Banta Feeds tee-shirt while out on walks in her neighborhood, trying to drum up more donations for their drive.

The 2^nd Jefferson Park Neighborhood Food Drive will be held in Thanksgiving-style. We will be collecting Thanksgiving table donations that will benefit the 500 Turkeys program of Life Bridge Christian Church in Valparaiso. 500 Turkeys serves to collect enough food to feed at least 500 needy local families for Thanksgiving at a time when they may not have the extra money to fill their table themselves.

The donations sought in this drive are: dried mashed potatoes, dried stuffing mix, cornbread/bread mixes, canned corn/green beans & other canned vegetables, canned cranberry sauce, canned yams/sweet potatoes, brownie & other dessert mixes, and any other non-perishable Thanksgiving table items that residents may wish to donate.

This neighborhood food drive will be held from October 20-23. The blue Banta Feeds container will be located by the road at 200 East Park which is located on the east end of McCord Road. The container will be available between the hours of 9 a.m.-6 p.m. each day of the drive. It will be monitored and emptied regularly.

For more information on Banta Feeds Food Drives visit www.bantafeeds.com or email Christine Hisick, founder at organizer@bantafeeds.com.

Congratulations to the Dravininkas & Glendale Neighborhoods of Valparaiso!

96–that’s how many bags the Dravininkas & Glendale neighborhoods in Valparaiso raised in their neighborhood food drive that we held last week. This is a mighty big number, and it’s just the number that has made their part of our city the most current Banta Feeds neighborhood food drive champion.

These areas together, equal the size of an average Valparaiso neighborhood, and they joined forces to take the champion’s crown in the name of giving a hand up to those in need in our city. Our previous champion was the Forest Park neighborhood, who is just across Campbell Street from them to the west. Forest Park raised 78 bags of donations in November of last year, and they have held onto their crown until now.

Banta Feeds has been on a mission to bring the neighborhoods in Valparaiso together to help out those who have been struggling because of the recession since February, 2009. We bring alive the spirit of friendly competition in our city, as our neighborhoods compete against each other to see who can donate more. All of the donations we collect go to benefit local food pantries.

Congratulations to the Dravininkas and Glendale neighborhoods on your brand new crown, and to all of the Valparaiso neighborhoods and residents who have given to our food drives from your hearts. A big thank you goes out to all of you from all of us at Banta Feeds.

To learn more about Banta Feeds Food Drives visit www.bantafeeds.com.

VALPARAISO | Banta Feeds volunteers hope to put the July heat to residents from two adjoining northside neighborhoods to see which can collect the most items for area food pantries.

Starting today and going through Saturday, the organization is asking residents of the Dravininkas and the Glendale Neighborhoods to engage in a friendly competition to help those who are less fortunate. Banta is asking for contributions of nonperishable food items to be dropped off in the Banta Feeds container at Berkley Park at the east end of Sheffield Drive.

The Dravininkas Neighborhood is located between Fisher Street and Glendale Boulevard from Campbell Street to Linden Drive. Among the subdivisions included in the neighborhood are Northcrest, North Orchard Acres and Winslow Close. The Glendale Neighborhood lies between the ends of Shannon, Dorset and Camilla Drives south to Glendale and from Linden to Valparaiso Street. Glendale Garden and Lindsey’s Add are included in this area. Banta Feeds Founder Christine Hisick said she is challenging the two neighborhoods to beat the reigning food drive champ, the Forest Park Neighborhood, which donated 78 bags of food in November. The drive is being conducted in cooperation with the city’s Parks Department, and the drop-off box will be available from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Banta Feeds also is teaming up with resident Richard Marrell of Marramgrass Studios on Saturday. Marrell is hosting the Artist’s Row Fest from noon to 9 p.m. at 906 Washington St. The public is asked to bring a nonperishable food item to the event to donate to Banta Feeds. More information about Banta Feeds is available on the organization’s web site at www.bantafeeds.com.

Artist’s Row Festival

What are you doing on the evening of Saturday, July 31? It’d be a fun time for you and your family if you stopped on by the Artist’s Row Festival in Valparaiso. There will be many local artists, jewelry-makers and musical talents at the fest, and Banta Feeds Food Drives will be collecting non-perishable food donations that will benefit a local food pantry. Check out the flier and pass it around to all of your friends and family who may be interested in this event. It’s going to be a great time. Don’t forget to bring a donation for your neighbors in need.

See you on the row.

VALPARAISO | The first food drive of the summer for Banta Feeds begins today in the Worthington Gates neighborhood. Banta Feeds founder Christine Hisick said the drive goes through Saturday to coincide with the neighborhood’s garage sale being held Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is requested anyone coming to the garage sale bring a donation for the food drive. The Worthington Gates neighborhood is between Roosevelt and Silhavy Roads from Glendale Boulevard to Vale Park Road. It includes the subdivisions of Autumn Trail, Maple Creek, Country Club Estates and the Villas at Vale Park. The drive follows May’s Banta Neighborhood food drive that collected 767 pounds of food and other items for area food pantries. Hisick said the Worthington Gates drive was first suggested by neighborhood resident Janice Mann, who has roots in the Banta area and often donates to the pantries. The collection container will be in her yard at 2210 Penwick Drive from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day of the drive. All nonperishable food donations and home supply/hygiene products are needed along with wet and dry pet food, which is collected for the Porter County Animal Shelter. Hisick said her organization was helped by a donation from Richard Orelup and by Golden Technologies, which is designing a new website for Banta Feeds. “It is residents and volunteers, like Mann and (volunteer Eileen) Piehl who have made Banta Feeds’ success in the community possible,” Hisick said. “We wouldn’t be anywhere without their help.”

Worthington Gates Neighborhood, Valparaiso

The bees are buzzin’ around already this summer, and so is Banta Feeds. After our amazing group of volunteers worked to raise 767 lbs. of donations in May’s Banta Neighborhood Food Drive, our organization is at it again in June.

Banta Feeds is kicking off the first week of summer with the Worthington Gates Neighborhood Food Drive in Valparaiso. The Worthington Gates neighborhood lies between Roosevelt-Silhavy from the west to east, and from Vale Park Road-Glendale from the north to south. This neighborhood food drive will include all of the subdivisions that are nestled in that area as well. These subdivisions are Autumn Trail, Maple Creek, Country Club Estates and the Villas at Vale Park. Banta Feeds also asks that all local businesses, churches and organizations that are planted within the Worthington Gates area participate in their food drive as well. It takes everyone giving what pebbles they can to build a mountain of help for our neighbors who are struggling.

The Worthington Gates Neighborhood Food Drive is being held in partnership with the neighborhood’s garage sale that will be taking place on the weekend of the drive. They will be holding their garage sale on Friday and Saturday, June 25 and 26, from 8a.m. to 4p.m. The public is asked to bring a donation with them for Banta Feeds when they visit the neighborhood during the sale.

This neighborhood food drive was made possible by Valparaiso resident, Janice Mann, who lives in Worthington Gates. Mann contacted Banta Feeds’ founder in the spring of 2010 when she heard of the work that the organization is doing in the community. With her family having deep roots in the Banta-area of the city, and often donating food to pantries on her own, Mann wanted to help. Mann offered to host the food drive container in her yard, and she came up with the idea of partnering the event with the garage sale in her area.

Another Valparaiso resident, Eileen Piehl, volunteers for Banta Feeds. She will be performing the majority of the container pick ups during this food drive. Piehl also helps to distribute fliers along with our other volunteers, and she continually offers to help with Banta Feeds in any way she can.

It is residents like Mann and Piehl who have made Banta Feeds’ success in the community possible. We wouldn’t be anywhere without their help. We also thank new partner ValpoLife.com for their support, and new donor Richard Orelup, who provided a sizeable gift to the advancement of our organization. Golden Technologies is currently working on a brand new website for Banta Feeds, and all of our volunteers, sponsors and partners continue to help us to grow. We are more than grateful for all of their help and dedication to our cause.

The Worthington Gates Neighborhood Food Drive will be held from June 23-36. The donation container will be located at 2210 Penwick Drive between the hours of 8a.m.-6p.m. on each day of the drive. All non-perishable food donations and home supply/hygiene products are welcome, and Banta Feeds also collects wet cat and dog food for the animals in need at the Porter County Animal Shelter.

Feel free to email any inquiries to organizer@bantafeeds.com. Learn more about Banta Feeds Food Drives.