By Natalie M. Zeigler, City ManagerNational Canned Food Month and American Heart Month have become a couple of the national months of observance to take place every February. The City of Hartsville is now participating in events to mark these two occasions, since both of the issues involved, food availability and heart health, have a significant impact on our community.
For National Canned Food Month, the City is hosting a food drive for Hartsville Interfaith Ministries. We have drop-off bins waiting for anyone interested in providing canned or boxed food at City Hall, 133 W. Carolina Avenue, as well as the Police Department at 135 W. Carolina Ave., and the Fire Department at 111 S. Seventh St., which can accept donations into the early evening hours.
Many nonprofits find that food donations are easy to come by when people are thinking about hunger, like the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays. National Canned Food Month helps us remember that food insecurity, or not having consistent access to enough food, remains a year-round issue for many. In 2012, the nonprofit group Feeding America counted more than 800,000 people living with food insecurity in South Carolina, amounting to 18 percent of the population.
Hartsville Interfaith Ministries provides local food assistance as well as other crisis help such as utility bill or rent assistance. Director Robin Young tells us the organization can always make use of nonperishable food items, so we invite you to bring out donations to help keep their pantry full.
American Heart Month also falls in February. It serves as a time to remember how important taking proper care of your heart can be, through diet and exercise as well as monitoring cholesterol and blood pressure. Darlington County has high rates of heart health problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart disease deaths are reported in this county at 477 per 100,000, and stroke deaths are reported at 130 per 100,000.
Next week, Darlington County Recreation will be staging Healthy Heart Walk Day at the Terrance J. Herrington Track at Byerly Park. We invite anyone interested to walk a mile on your own on Thursday, Feb. 14, anytime from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and enjoy a few heart-healthy snacks. Carolina Pines will be providing blood pressure checks and information from a dietician at 10 a.m., and Healthy Heart Walk Day t-shirts will be available for sale at the Coach T.B. Thomas Sports Center. These two observances, the City’s food drive and Healthy Heart Walk Day, give us a chance to take action for our own well-being and the well-being of others. I hope members of our community can join in with these events this month.
