Airmen's food drive will feed hundreds

USAF courtesy photo: Airman 1st Class Erik Cardenas Airman 1st Class John Encomienda and Airman Natalie Mcleod, 27th Special Operations Logistics Readiness Squadron, stand next to two of the 12 Air Force Sergeants Association (AFSA) food drive boxes they built.

A recent trial community service project at Cannon Air Force Base will mean that hundreds of men, women and children in the local surrounding communities will have a lot more of the food they need.

The Air Force Sergeants Association Chapter 1255 spent three weeks collecting canned food and other food items for the Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico, which is based in Clovis, according to Senior Master Sgt. Maria A. Lacuesta-Siroin, superintendent of the 27th Special Operations Comptroller Squadron.

“The drive was a complete success,” said Lacuesta-Siroin, who also serves as president of the AFSA Chapter 1255. “Within three weeks, our organization collected 556 pounds of food items.”

Officials estimate the food items collected will serve hundreds of families across the six counties served by the local Food Bank, whose service area spans 19,648 miles.

The food drive, which ended on March 20, was the first food drive organized by the AFSA’s local chapter, she added.

A dozen collection boxes, decorated with funding from the AFSA, were strategically placed around base, including locations in the BX lobby, the base Chapel and several key buildings, according to Airman 1st Class John Encomienda.

Organizers hope to have another food drive sometime in the summer or fall.