Merced County Fair’s canned food drive enters third year
Visitors to the Merced County Fair looking for a free ticket into the opening-night auto races can receive admission into the event by bringing at least two cans of food.
The canned food drive is a joint effort between fair authorities and the Merced County Food Bank. Canned goods will get you into the grandstands for the races Wednesday night, but general admission prices still apply, according to Diane Conway, the fair’s marketing manager.
“This time of year is especially tough for the food bank to receive donations,” Conway said Monday. “So, this is really a win-win for everybody. They really need the donations and the donations of two or more cans will get people into the races for free.”
Bernadette Mello, the food bank’s executive director, said this is the third year her organization has teamed up with the fair to push for canned food donations.
“People tend to think of us close to the holidays, but we need as much as we can,” Mello said. “We’re looking for nonperishable canned goods and anything that’s high protein like canned meat or peanut butter.”
Food bank volunteers will be posted at all three entrances to accept canned food donations and passing information on the Senior Brown Bag program, which provides two grocery bags of food each month to senior citizens who qualify for the service, Mello said.
The auto races, which begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, are just some of the events and entertainment offered up at this year’s fair.
Wednesday’s activities include a “Cutest Beach Boy & Beach Girl Contest,” to go along with the fair’s beach theme for this year and an “Almond Delights” Cooking Contest.
Additionally, there will be an antique tractor parade, a photography contest, robots and cars on display, singing contests and musical acts; along with clowns and the Great American Petting Zoo, among other events and activities.
For a schedule of factivities and events, visit the fair’s website: http://www.mercedcountyfair.com/pdf/daily_events_2015.pdf
Rob Parsons: 209-385-2482
This story was originally published June 8, 2015 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Merced County Fair’s canned food drive enters third year."