The summer months are hard on less-fortunate families trying to make ends meet. As a result, the Jackson Ministerial Alliance Food Pantry has been especially hard hit. It desperately needs donations.

The food pantry, like others in the area, is important in that it operates on the basic principle that those who have are able to help those who do not have. There is no bureaucratic red tape to cut through. People donate to the pantry, and the food and other essentials it offers is available any day during the week to anyone in the Jackson area who needs assistance.

The Jackson pantry has been in operation since the late 1980s. It recently expanded into the old Jackson city hall -- now called Memorial Hall -- when New McKendree United Methodist Church bought the building. It also has expanded through the years to a communitywide project.

The food pantry is a lifesaver for poor families with children at home all summer, so the demand for food is at its peak. Now is the time to replenish supplies with both food and monetary contributions.

You help will certainly be appreciated.

Take donations for the Jackson Food Pantry to:

Cox Memorial Hall

225 S. High St.

Jackson, Mo.