Victory car dealership in Salem kicked off a month-long food drive Monday for the Westmoreland Food Bank where attendees met Steelers tight end Darnell Washington.

Selected in the third round of April’s NFL draft, Washington, who won 2 college national championships at the University of Georgia, said he enjoyed coming out to a place in the region he now lives to meet fans who support him.

The dealership held a drive for the food bank when it moved into its location along Route 22 in 2019. When considering an organization to support going into the holiday season, the food bank was the obvious choice, said dealership owner Alysia Stephens.

“It’s hard to find an organization you can trust sometimes,” said Stephens, of Scottdale, “but the Westmoreland Food Bank is so important to the area.”

And with the food bank’s increased need of donations going into the holidays, the drive could not come at a better time, said Gina Colosimo, director of volunteers and food drives at the Westmoreland Food Bank.

The food bank supports more than 8,000 households per month and it has seen an increase in referral numbers this year, Colosimo said. With two months left in the year, the food bank is down 500,000 pounds in food donations from last year’s total, she said.

“Because the need has increased and the food donations are down, we’re hoping that these food drives will help us continue feeding everyone through the year,” Colosimo, of Greensburg, said.

Local food drives help fill the food bank’s gaps, Colosimo said, allowing it to stock its 40 food pantries across the county and run its military food share, onsite feeding programs and Fresh Express produce distributions.

The food bank is in need of items like mac and cheese, Hamburger Helper, whole grain cereals, peanut butter and canned fruits, vegetables, tuna, salmon, soup and raviolis, Colosimo said.

“Every little bit helps. We don’t care if it’s a large donation or a small donation,” Colosimo said. “It’s more food than we had before you brought it in to us.”

Stephens does not have a donation goal in mind — just “as much as possible,” she said.

“It’s just a basic human need that people shouldn’t have to worry about — where their next meal is coming from,” she said.