Elementary-school students, businesses and even professional athletes are getting behind the effort to feed Tucson's hungry this holiday season.
Members of the business community collaborated on an effort to assist the Community Food Bank with an event they're calling "Miracle on Congress."
Starting Saturday, a location at Fifth Avenue and East Congress Street will serve as a drop-off site where people can leave nonperishable food and money with volunteers during the one-week event.
The food bank already had a boost on a smaller scale Thursday when it received more than 2,300 food items from students at Lineweaver Elementary School, 461 S. Bryant Ave.
Lineweaver holds food drives each year during the holidays. This year the school teamed up with Doubletree Hotel Tucson at Reid Park and its Teaching Kids to CARE program to learn about hunger and collect nonperishable foods for the Food Bank.
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"The kids really went for it," said Lineweaver teacher Mike Bekedam. "It was one of our better years."
Restaurant owner Kwang C. An helped coordinate and will kick off the food drive event Saturday at noon.
An is a board member of the Community Food Bank.
"Tucson people are very generous, and I'd like them to be even more generous this holiday," he said.
An will be joined Saturday by former Arizona Diamondback Luis Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, known as An's "No. 1 son Gonzo," will join An in Saturday's 15th annual Downtown Parade of Lights, which will start around 6 p.m. near South Stone Avenue and East 17th Street.
An and the others involved in Miracle on Congress already have collected thousands of dollars in donations for the food bank.
The Diamondbacks and Casino del Sol have contributed $5,000 each. Cox Media is expected to contribute cash and has donated media production and media time.
Television commercials promoting Miracle on Congress are scheduled to start airing next week, An said.
The downtown space where the food will be collected and stored was donated by developer Scott Stiteler.
The Community Food Bank depends on events such as Miracle on Congress and the Winterhaven Festival of Lights to get through the holiday season, said Jack Parris, public relations manager for the food bank.
"This is our busiest time of the year. We're serving more people than we ever have before, and events like Winterhaven Festival of Lights and Miracle on Congress are just the thing we need to keep up with the demand," Parris said.
Volunteers will collect food and money at Winterhaven entry points starting Saturday and ending Dec. 26.
More than 22,400 pounds of food and almost $21,000 were collected for the food bank last year.
"Winterhaven has been good to us," Parris said.
He said cereal, canned meats and peanut butter are priority needs.
Contact reporter Andrea Rivera at 807-8430 or arivera@azstarnet.com.
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