A few bucks can go a long way to feeding families.

To help meet that need, Bank Independent is kicking off its seventh annual Food Share drive March 1 to benefit local food banks through the “Feed a Family for $5 with Food Share” campaign.

Donors can bring non-perishable food and cash donations to any branch of Bank Independent. Other businesses and donations to PayPal can be found at bibank.com/help. Bank Independent works with local partner organizations across their seven-county footprint to ensure donations are distributed to area families in need.

“Food insecurity in our community has always been the driving need behind our Food Share initiative,” said Macke Mauldin, president and CEO of BancIndependent. “The past year has highlighted how quickly that disparity can affect local families. The charities we support provide vital assistance for families undergoing hardships.

“We hope our Food Share efforts make a positive impact.”

The 2020 drive was re-envisioned last year due to the local impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We have had important conversations with our local food bank partners to determine how we can best help this year,” said Nikki Randolph, Community Engagement Officer at Bank Independent. “We learned that in the right hands, a simple donation of five dollars can feed a family for a day.

“We built the 2021 Food Share drive around that theme and created three convenient ways for our team members and customers to donate at any of our 28 Bank Independent locations; through PayPal; and through partner businesses, all listed at bibank.com/help.”

Organizations that will receive the donations are the Committee on Church Cooperation in Morgan County, the Neighborhood Christian Center in Decatur, the Departments of Human Resources of Lawrence County and Franklin County, Limestone County Churches Involved, Sidney’s Safe! Foundation and The Meal Barrel Project in the Shoals, and Manna House in Huntsville.

To help supplement the annual Food Share drive, Bank Independent will donate 10 cents for every Bank Independent debit card transaction made at a grocery store, up to $10,000, between March 1 and March 15. The total will be distributed across the local partner organizations.