Correspondent photo / Sean Barron C.J. Adkins, who volunteers for TNR of Warren, an animal shelter, holds bags of cat food that were donated during a food drive Sunday in Warren. The items will go to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley in Youngstown to be distributed to those in need.

WARREN — When it comes to dealing with societal wrongs and difficult times, everyone has essentially the same two choices: act or don’t. Laurie Coyle opted for the first choice.

“I brought some food — soup, tuna fish, some pasta and some personal hygiene items. There’s so much going on now that you can’t control that’s breaking my heart,” Coyle, of Kent, said.

Her decision to act, however, was anything but heartbreaking, because Coyle was among those who donated several boxes of items for a food drive Sunday afternoon at and near Modern Methods Brewing Co., 125 David Grohl Alley, in downtown Warren.

Hosting the three-hour drive-thru holiday-themed gathering were Modern Methods and Good Trouble Trumbull, a grassroots activist group that organizes nonviolent protests against the President Donald Trump administration policies. Serving as the organization’s inspiration is the late civil rights icon and Georgia congressman John Lewis, who often talked about getting into good trouble, if necessary, and adhere to the philosophy of nonviolence to fight racism, segregation and other injustices.

Donations will go to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley in Youngstown, Gary Tuttle of Good Trouble Trumbull, noted. From there, the items will stock an estimated 60 area food pantries and kitchens before being distributed to those less fortunate and in need, Tuttle said.

Coyle said she is saddened by news of recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Columbus, as well as what she feels is the overall harsh treatment of immigrants “who deserve our love.” Also upsetting to her are funding cuts to food banks, along with many people’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, Coyle continued.

Records from the Butler County jail in southwestern Ohio indicate that 61 people aged 20 to 51 were ICE detainees who had been booked into the facility last week, according to the Columbus Dispatch. A few dozen people gathered for a Friday protest outside of an ICE office in Westerville, the newspaper reported.

Donated items Sunday included boxes of hot and cold cereal, pasta and spaghetti sauce, Raman noodles, feminine and hygiene products, boxes of macaroni and cheese, lentils, stuffing mix, potato soup packets and various condiments. Also included were bags and cans of dry and wet dog and cat food.

When hosting food drives to assist people in need, it’s easy to forget that pets also have needs. So, it was important that Sunday’s food drive addressed that gap, said C.J. Adkins, a volunteer with TNR of Warren, an animal shelter. TNR stands for “trap, neuter and release.”

Such needs are magnified for pets whose companions have lost their homes to foreclosures or are evicted, for example, she said, adding that some people have become so desperate that they are reduced to eating pet food.

“That should make you uncomfortable; if it doesn’t, that’s concerning,” Adkins said.

TNR of Warren is the Mahoning Valley’s only animal charity that offers free dog and cat food every other Sunday. Adkins added that during the most recent giveaway, more than 1,700 pounds of pet food was distributed.

The next giveaway is set for 10 to 11 a.m. Jan. 11 at TNR’s warehouse, 397 Folsom St., Adkins noted.

The facility is committed to doing whatever is necessary to take care of the animals, said Adkins, who has 14 cats, nine of which had been left behind.

Before Sunday’s food drive, some people dropped off donations at four other Warren sites: Triyounity on Main Avenue, Urban Tap on East Market Street, Art on Park on North Park Avenue and CharBenay’s Wine on the River on West Market Street.

Good Trouble Trumbull hosted a similar food drive last month in which nearly 2,000 pounds of food had been donated to Second Harvest, Tuttle said.