The fight against hunger within the West End community will be addressed next month thanks to the new partnership between Tractor Supply Company and The Garden of Giving in a "Fill the Truck" event on Saturday, April 21 from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. It will be held at the Brodheadsville Tractor Supply Company store, located at 1580 Route 209.

The Garden of Giving is a local group that supplies high quality, fresh foods to local food bank facilities and soup kitchens in the area. Supporters of the organizations and community members are encouraged to visit the store April 21, to purchase items from Garden of Giving's wish list and donate the items to the cause."We need supplies for our chickens, who are now supplying healthy eggs to our area food banks. We have donated over 5,000 eggs since we got our chickens in November," says Tammy Graeber, director and founder of The Garden of Giving, located in McMichaels, just off Rt. 715.Ms. Graeber says they are hoping for donations of bags of chicken feed, layer crumbles or pellets, Poultry Grit, oyster shells, Flock Block and pine shavings (100 "flake").With each donated item, you will be able to choose a "Thank You Egg" which contains an appreciation gift.Tractor Supply will donate 10 percent of the purchase price of the donated items back to The Garden of Giving. During the event, Garden of Giving will grill hot dogs for guests."We've seen how much The Garden of Giving means to the people here in the area, and we wanted to help," said Store Manager Bob Hodgson. "They came to us seeking various items to help with operational costs. We're thrilled to host an event like this with The Garden of Giving and give back to the community."The Garden of Giving has volunteers from many organizations, including the Penn State Cooperative Extension, the Girl and Boy Scouts, retired and senior volunteer programs and The Garden of Giving founder Tammy Graeber's church, Effort United Methodist Church. Graeber believes this new partnership with Tractor Supply is a sign of things to come."We are very grateful for Tractor Supply's willingness to help us gather supplies needed to nourish the people of the community," said Graeber. "This event has given us the opportunity to increase the awareness and importance of our work that benefits those in need in our community."For more information, contact Bob Hodgson at (570) 992-1824 or

str1573@tractorsupply.com or Tammy Graeber, 570-402-1282 or

gardenofgiving1@gmail.com. To learn more about The Garden of Giving, visit the website at

www.thegardenofgiving.org.