Gwinnett Daily Post

Special Photo The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints sponsored its third annual charity run for local food banks on Nov. 10 at Tribble Mill Park, collecting close to 4,000 cans.

LAWRENCEVILLE -- As the holidays edge closer, it's no secret that local food banks need more help than ever stocking the shelves.

As a way to give back to the community, local Mormon congregations from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints came together on Nov. 10 for Gwinnett food banks. The churches organized a 5K charity race designed to collect cans of food at Tribble Mill Park in Lawrenceville.

Instead of paying to join the race, participants were asked to donate 10 nonperishable goods.

After the cans were tallied, the group collected close to 4,000 items, which were donated to Quinn House, Bread of Life Ministries, The Salvation Army and Duluth Hands of Christ.

"We know that this can be a hard time for many families, given the recession," participant Heather Nickel said. "We just want to do our share to help those in need both as Christians and as part of this community. We just want to help."

For the last two years, the LDS church sponsored a similar race to support local food banks. This year, the LDS church was joined together with Sports Authority, Athletics8 clothing, McDonald's, The Vitamin Shoppe and Gold's Gym to sponsor the event.