VENTURA, CA - On Thursday, July 31, the Ventura County Fair will host a “Feed the Need” Fair Cares Food Drive benefitting FOOD Share.

Fair-goers who bring five canned goods to donate to Ventura County’s regional food bank when they purchase an adult admission ticket before 5 p.m. will receive a free return fair ticket valid Monday through Thursday, August 4-7. Non –perishable foods, such as canned soup, vegetables, meats, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, pasta, rice, beans and cereal, are FOOD Share's most needed items.

Ventura County has experienced a steady increase in the population of hunger insecure individuals over the past five years since the economic downturn. Today, FOOD Share serves more than 74,500 people per month; and according to the latest findings by national hunger-relief charity Feeding America, 102,390 people in Ventura County do not always know where they will find their next meal.

“The hunger gap is a reality for every community in our nation, and for Ventura County, that means almost 28,000 children, seniors and adults are going without food,” explains Bonnie Weigel, president and CEO of FOOD Share. “Every donation we receive helps us close this gap, and we encourage the community to take part in this important food drive.”

The community also can get involved by supporting the Ventura County Fair Junior Livestock Auction on Friday, Aug. 8, which will benefit FOOD Share, and winning bidders may donate livestock animals directly to the food bank.

The 2014 Ventura County Fair runs from July 30 – Aug. 10. For more information about the Ventura County Fair, go to: www.venturacountyfair.org and for more information about FOOD Share, go to www.foodshare.com.

About FOOD Share:
More than 35 years ago, eight citizens performed a good deed by distributing food to those who were in need underneath a Ventura bridge. The early philanthropic movement quickly formed into what is now Ventura County’s regional food bank, FOOD Share, which has grown from serving a few hundred hungry people per month to 74,500 people. Today, staff and volunteers distribute more than 10 million pounds of food annually from its distribution site; more than 180 partner agencies, which include neighborhood and church food distributions and soup kitchens; as well as hunger assistance programs. FOOD Share’s programs provide healthy nutrition and education to children, families and seniors, which include: KIDS Share, SENIOR Share, Nutrition Education, Community Market, SoCal Gas CARE Program, ART Share and more. A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, FOOD Share is a member of the Feeding America network, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. For more information about FOOD Share, visit www.foodshare.com. Find us on Facebook and Twitter.