Mission Granbury takes over Live Thankfully food drive

For almost a decade, local pediatric dentist Dr. Dave Purczinsky and his wife, Dana, have organized the Live Thankfully food drive for nonprofit organization Mission Granbury.

But now, due to some minor health issues, Purczinsky has made the decision to retire from the annual food drive and pass on the responsibility to Mission Granbury.

HISTORY

Originally started by John Kelley of Kelley Orthodontics in Fort Worth, Live Thankfully first began as a way to give Thanksgiving dinners to families in need and has since transformed to an area food drive that takes place in several local cities like Lubbock, Decatur, Cleburne and Granbury.

“(Kelley) is a friend of mine and in 2012, he had started Live Thankfully in Fort Worth,” Purczinsky said. “It was a food drive designed to help the people in his community. I just thought it was a great way for people to come together, have a common goal and see what they can do when we all come together as one, so the following year, I started Live Thankfully here with Mission Granbury.”

Live Thankfully partnered with public and private schools in Granbury, Tolar and Acton to teach students about service and giving. For three weeks, students and families conducted a food drive for Mission Granbury.

“The people of Granbury really reached out and it was fun to let the kids see all of the food out so they could see that this really makes a difference when we come together,” Purczinsky said.

At the end of the three-week period, Live Thankfully would host Party with a Purpose, where families would show up to help bag groceries for Mission Granbury to give out to those in need. As many as 300 bags of groceries would go out to families, while the rest of the items would help supply the food pantry, typically as long as 10 months.

“It’s so amazing when all that food gets brought in here,” Purczinsky said. “I think we had 430 bins in the community last year. It's something that kids can do to give back. There's not always a lot of things for younger elementary kids to be able to do, and so it was neat for them to be able to feel like they were contributing. We had about 17,000 items donated that first year and 22,000 was our highest.”

TAKEOVER

This year, Purczinsky has decided to let Mission Granbury run the food drive under a new name — Pantries of Plenty.

“What he (Purczinsky) started is amazing and it gave us that platform to jump from and continue what has always been our biggest food drive for the pantry,” said Andi Luna, EAN (Emergency Assistance Network) coordinator for Mission Granbury. “We're getting fewer and fewer donations from everywhere, so what (the food drive) would usually bring in for us would last us nine months. This past year, it lasted us not even six months, and we've had to ask for more food from the Tarrant Area Food Bank. TAFB has already spent $4 million more on food this year than they allotted. This lack of food is a chain that starts at the top and goes all the way down. When everybody's affected, it affects the whole community.”

Luna said that numbers at Mission Granbury have tripled since the pandemic, which is why an extra week will be added onto this year’s food drive.

“We are going to include hygiene and other nonperishable items in the list,” she said. “We do have an Amazon wish list that people can access, and it has everything in there that's our biggest needs.”

DONATIONS

Donations needed for the food drive include food items such as canned meat, spaghetti sauce, microwaveable macaroni and cheese, Chef Boyardee products, instant rice, ramen noodles, box desserts, cereal, instant oatmeal and peanut butter.

Another huge need is pet food.

"A lot of our homebound seniors, that's their only companion; that's their only family, and they will feed them first before they eat, so in order to prevent that, I like to make sure they have pet food,” Luna said. “To me, the innocent people of all this are not only children, but our pets too. We're seeing record numbers at the shelter and everything because people can't afford to feed them, so we try to supplement their groceries with that as well.”

Non-food donation items needed for the food drive include: women and men’s deodorant, feminine hygiene products, shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

“There's always monetary. You can always call or go online and donate, or you can go to our Amazon wish list and pick from there,” Luna said.

PANTRIES OF PLENTY

The Pantries of Plenty food drive will take place from Oct. 10 through Nov 11.

Donation boxes and tubs will be set out in several local businesses and on all of the school campuses.

Luna said Mission Granbury will also carry on the tradition that Purczinsky started, where each campus will nominate two families to receive a Thanksgiving meal.

“We’re just about making things better for the community, but also helping them have a better quality of life,” she said.

“We have been so blessed by the Purscinzky family over the last eight years,” said Mission Granbury Executive Director Dusti Scovel. “The food we received through their annual Live Thankfully food drive has been the primary source of non-perishable food in our pantry. Since 2020, the need for food in Hood County has increased exponentially so we were excited about taking over the reins in 2022. It is our hope that by casting an even larger net into the community, we will stock our shelves with healthy, nutritious food items that will sustain us throughout the year. Our pantry is open three days a week, and many rely on our food boxes to feed their families. This community has always answered our call for help, and we are humbled every time.”

Mission Granbury is located at 3611 Plaza E. Court and can be reached at 817-579-6866. The weekly drive-through food pantry takes place from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday and 3-7 p.m. on Wednesday.