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Candidate stumps for food donations
McCallum-food drive
John McCallum, center, a candidate for Congress from Georgias 1st District, stands with a man and a baby in support of Americas Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia. McCallum at his recent candidacy announcement requested attendees donate nonperishable food items to Americas Second Harvest rather than make monetary campaign contributions. - photo by Photo provided.

John McCallum, a candidate for Congress in Georgia’s 1st District, recently announced his candidacy to a crowd of more than 300 people from throughout southeast Georgia at an event at his home in Glynn County.   
Instead of soliciting monetary campaign contributions, McCallum asked that attendees donate non-perishable food items for America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia.  The resulting donations weighed more than 450 pounds.
“Families throughout Coastal Georgia are struggling this holiday season,” McCallum said. “As community leaders, helping our friends and neighbors put food on the table this Thanksgiving is the least we can do.”
When asked why he chose to solicit donations for America’s Second Harvest  as opposed to campaign contributions, McCallum responded, “It’s personal.”
“When I was in college, my family lost everything,” he said. “We had to rely on the kindness of others to get back up on our feet.  This was a perfect opportunity to help our community by returning the favor.”
According to a news release, America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia serves as a food “safety net” for thousands of people who are at risk for hunger throughout Southeast Georgia.  
The food bank has branches in Savannah, Brunswick and Alma.
The 1st District includes Bryan, Chatham, Liberty and Long counties.
McCallum is one of five men seeking the Republican nomination to run for the 1st District seat, which is being vacated by Jack Kingston, who is running for U.S. Senate. McCallum currently is running against Buddy Carter of Pooler, Darwin Carter of Alma, Jeff Chapman of Brunswick and Bob Johnson of Savannah.

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