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Thursday, September 22, 2016

EIRMC launches canned food drive to mark 30th anniversary

Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center is celebrating its 30-year anniversary this fall. The hospital opened its doors on Dec. 22, 1986.

One of the ways it plans to observe the occasion is with a canned food drive. The goal is to collect 30,000 cans to benefit 11 food banks in the region EIRMC serves. The hospital sees patients from all over eastern Idaho, from Driggs to Blackfoot, including Idaho Falls.

“We are thrilled and honored to participate in EIRMC’s celebration of three decades of caring for our community,” said Bud Langerak, executive director of the Community Food Basket in Idaho Falls. “The coinciding food drive will help several food pantries serve our friends and neighbors with food insecurity. I encourage our communities to support this great event with food donations at EIRMC and the free online donation process.”

Community members can help with the food drive in two ways. They can drop off cans of food in the EIRMC main lobby or cafeteria at any time. Or they can deliver canned foods to the participating food banks and tell them it is for the EIRMC food drive.

Second, community members can visit EIRMC30Years.com to “virtually donate” to the food drive. Visitors can submit their email each day and EIRMC will donate on their behalf.

The EIRMC30Years.com website includes a count of the total cans donated so far, which is updated weekly. On the website, visitors will also find historical photos, stories from longtime employees, EIRMC history, and other information about the 30 year anniversary.

The canned food drive is scheduled to run through the end of December.

Here is a complete list of food banks: Community Dinner Table (Blackfoot Community Pantry), Community Food Basket (Idaho Falls), Cornerstone Pentecostal Food Bank, Family Crisis Center (Rexburg), Idaho Falls Soup Kitchen, Jefferson County Food Bank, North Bingham County Community Food Bank, North Fremont Food Pantry, Salvation Army (Idaho Falls), St. Vincent de Paul, and Teton Valley Food Bank.