The Moody Museum is hosting its annual Pounds of Plenty food drive to benefit Shepherd’s Heart Food Pantry.
The food drive is ongoing but culminates with festivities Saturday, June 25. Donations of food can be brought to the Moody Museum, 114 W. Ninth St. in Taylor, next Saturday between 10 a.m. and noon.
Monetary donations for purchasing food will be accepted at the museum on Saturday.
Shepherd’s Heart Food Pantry will park their truck in front of the museum to collect all of the donated items. They will also be providing a scale to weigh the items received.
The local fire department and police department will have vehicles on hand to provide an interesting experience for the children who come that morning.
Members of the Moody Museum Advisory Board and the Friends of the Moody Museum will be serving cold drinks and snacks that morning and giving tours of the museum.
In the meantime, citizens are encouraged to alternatively drop off donations of non-perishable foods at the Loose Screw or the Texas Beer Company.
The Pounds of Plenty food drive grew out of a newspaper article from 1927 that told how the East Texas Chamber of Commerce held a pounding for the newlywed Gov. Dan Moody and his bride when they moved into the Governor’s Mansion. A pounding was a common practice in the late 1800s and early 1900s as friends and family stocked the pantry of newlyweds with pounds of food staples.
To commemorate Gov. Moody’s June birthday, the museum board decided that an old-fashioned pounding would be an appropriate event, with the local food pantry as the beneficiary.
The pantry provides food for families throughout the year.
The individual, business or organizations that brings in the most pounds of food will receive a trophy to commemorate their efforts, according to Moody Museum advisory board chair Susan Komandosky. Last year’s winner was Baylor Scott & White Hospital.
A trophy is also given to the largest monetary donor. Last year, that was a group of employees from Gemini Corporation.
