According to Sue Rundblad, coordinator of the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry, there tend to be large food drives around the times of the Jewish and national holidays, leaving this time of the year and the summer as slower times in terms of big contributions.

But when Curves health clubs across the nation begin their eighth annual food drive, the Curves of Creve Coeur and of Olivette will participate by collecting donations for the Jewish Food Pantry.

“The food drive is a country-wide charity that Curves has done since their inception that has grown,” said Deborah Weinstein of Creve Coeur Curves. “We will be starting our fifth year, and it will be the fourth year we have participated.”

To add incentive for people to contribute — on top of the usual charitable incentives — Curves will waive the one-time joining fee of $149 for anyone who brings a bag of groceries between Feb. 27 and March 11.

There is also a special incentive for people who are already members as they will receive a free Curves T-shirt if they bring in a bag of groceries and work out three times a week in the month of March.

“They always like T-shirts to work out in,” Weinstein said.

The donations have to be non-perishable items, preferably not glass, and Rundblad said the best are items that can be used as a “meal in a can.”

“If you can open a can and provide some sort of a warm meal, like pasta and meatballs, that is the best because sometimes there isn’t anything else, so if you have that you have your basics going. We can always use cans of soup and fruit and cereal, and also beef stew,” she said.

Weinstein said the location usually collects more than 1,000 pounds of food, with the cumulative national total reaching 10.6 million pounds of food last year.

Rundblad said in addition to the actual donations they receive from such food drives, they also tend to provide an opportunity for important connections.

“Just getting noticed means the world and sometimes it means a connection to somebody else. Sometimes a place you wouldn’t think may be collecting food may touch the life of someone else,” she said.

For more information call 314-569-9092.

Keren Douek is a staff writer and can be reached at [email protected]