21 WFMJ and Second Harvest Food Bank kickoff the 6th year of Pro - 21 News Now, More Local News for Youngstown, Ohio -

NILES, Ohio – 21 WFMJ'S Project: Feed Our Valley is once again raising money and food donations for Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley.

The campaign kicked off on Saturday in Niles.

The WFMJ Today crew was at the Super Kmart on Route 46 to officially kick-off the sixth year of project; an effort to raise awareness about hunger in the community and a call to action to raise donations for those in need.

The Second Harvest Food Bank is currently serving 14-thousand people each week and that number is expected to go up as the holidays approach.

"We've had a 50-percent cut in USDA commodities this year with an 18-percent increase in the number of people looking for food. So we're serving more people and there's less food to go around right now," said Becky Miller, Second Harvest Food Bank.

Earlier this year, Second Harvest Food Bank won the Walmart Million Dollar Challenge. The food bank could only use that money to increase storage space.

Roz Gadd made a donation on Saturday. She's a big fan of WFMJ Today and the Second Harvest Food Bank. "They won their contest and they're adding onto the building and improving how they distribute their supplies. It's just one of the most wonderful things that we have in the valley," Gadd said.

Saturday's kickoff collected about a thousand non-perishable food items. Each item collected will be matched with a dollar donation from the Cafaro Foundation, up to $10,000.