Swim club collects cans for Vaca FISH

Originally published in The Vacaville Reporter on December 31, 2016 By Jessica Rogness.
The Vacaville Swim Club engaged in some friendly competition this month to feed local people in need.
At its annual Red and Green Meet on Dec. 16 at the Graham Aquatic Center, the club charged an entry “fee” of two canned goods to be donated to the Vaca FISH food pantry.
It was a challenge to see which of the two teams — Red “Rudolph” or Green “Grinch” — could collect more cans and score the most points in the swimming events of the day. Green Team ultimately won with the most points.
Swimmers ages 8 to 13 gathered more than 600 cans at the meet, filling four barrels and doubling last year’s efforts.
Parents helped pass out hot cocoa and cookies to the swimmers, score the meet and counted how many cans there were for each team.
Every year the Vacaville Swim Club collects canned goods, cereal, evaporated milk and the like to donate to Vaca FISH.
This nonprofit organization was started in 1971 by three Vacaville residents who read about a group in the Eastern United States who made sandwiches for travelers. They depended on local residents for donations of money and food.
With Highway 40 passing through Vacaville, the group thought it would be good to start a similar effort here.
Now Vaca FISH has more than 30 people helping with office duties, packing food orders for clients, stocking and purchasing food for the pantry.
They help put food on the table for a couple days, up to a week, for people in need of a small amount of assistance.