Day of Service nets five tons of food for food bank

Battle Ground — Elizabeth Rowe could have been giggling with her friends or playing at the park Sept. 17. Instead, she was standing outside a Battle Ground grocery store inviting shoppers to donate food to the North County Community Food Bank. Rowe was one of nearly 2,000 volunteers involved in the 2011 Southwest Washington Day of Service. The donations she gathered were part of more than five tons of food that was collected for the food bank during the countywide work day. At one grocery store, a customer saw the need and came out with $300 worth of food to donate. Sherry Lambert, director of the food bank, said the food collected was enough to last until the annual Walk and Knock. The food drive was one of 16 projects taking place Sept. 17. For photos of the projects, visit http://www.columbian.com/photos/galleries/.