DURANT – Paper is good, plastic is okay but cardboard is best when it comes to boxing up food at St. Catherine’s Food Bank located at 1015 First Street in Durant. This week Sheltered Work Opportunities of Bryan County (SWO) donated over 1000 brand new cardboard boxes to St. Catherine’s to use for packaging donated items for distribution from the food bank’s pantry.

“We feed more than 300 families each week,” said St. Catherine’s Director, Marilyn Hitchcock. “We can really use these boxes. These are the perfect size for our purposes. This is great!”

The boxes are from a 2009 project according to SWO Executive Director, C.J. Washington. “We have been cleaning out our warehouse and moving things around. I kept wondering what we were going to do with all those boxes,” she said. “We started brainstorming. One of our clients remembered when she volunteered for St. Catherine’s that boxes were always in high demand. That’s it, we thought, a sister Bryan County United Way Agency in need! St. Catherine’s will put them to good use. When I called Marilyn she said, ‘Come on down!’”

Craig Thompson, an SWO employee, was on hand to help haul and stack the boxes onto pallets in St. Catherine’s building. “This is good. They sure can use these boxes,” he said. “I really like volunteering for things that help people in my community.”

It was hot work but well worth the effort it took for SWO Warehouse Manager, James McClour, and other SWO employees to hand-load the boxes in to the big yellow truck. “SWO is an organization of people who care about our community,” McClour stated. “We all like being a part of a place dedicated to making a positive difference in each other’s lives.”

St. Catherine’s Food Bank provides food, clothing and household items to individuals and families in need. For more information about the food bank or to donate food, clothing or cash contact Marilyn Hitchcock at 580.920.4655.

Sheltered Work Opportunities of Bryan County is a 33-year old non-profit organization in Durant devoted to providing vocational training, employment experience, and job opportunities to adults with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities. SWO is a 501c3 corporation and all donations are tax deductible. Call SWO to donate or for more information about SWO’s mission contact C.J. Washington at 580.924.8509. SWO is a Bryan County United Way agency.