Salina’s annual drive to collect food for the hungry kicked off Thursday with a gathering of committed community leaders and a luncheon to celebrate the mission.

Project Salina is an annual drive to collect food for the hungry. It unites multiple businesses, churches, and other organizations in an effort to collect food for five agencies that serve meals, or distribute food, throughout the year.

The agencies include Ashby House, the Salina Rescue Mission, The Emergency Aid Food Bank, the Salvation Army, Domestic Violence Association of Central Kansas and Salina Grace.

Project Salina provides about 40% of the annual food needs to some 5,430 people struggling with hunger. The agency reports that 32-percent of those are children. The Salina Emergency Aid/Food Bank alone provided over 721,800 meals in 2023.

Project Salina began in 1990 as an effort to help agencies that provide food when their need is the greatest, in the summer months. The agencies typically see a lot of donations during the holidays, but by the summer months their shelves are getting bare.

While Thursday was the kick-off event for volunteers, the actual food collection does not begin until May 1st, and continues throughout the entire month.

Meridian Media radio stations this year will be collecting hot and cold cereal.