By: Timothy Kays
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
The use of area food pantries has seen an increase over the last three-plus months, it was reported at the quarterly United Way of Williams County Hunger Summit Meeting of January 22.
John Widmer of See and Do of Montpelier reported on the activity at his outlet, saying, “Seniors…we’ve seen an increase. Not really all that big, but there has been an increase. New clients…there’s been a big increase. We’ve averaged about ten a month new. Over the last three months; October, November and December, we’ve had an increase of 416 people.”
The numbers do not lie; the economy is still fragile, and families are still hurting in our area. The figures related by Cheryl Sanders of Open Hands – Caring Hearts in Bryan are stunning. As she stated, “For 2014, we did see a good sized increase. We served 7,041 families, representing 20,108 family members. We’re very busy.”
What is responsible for the uptick in numbers, especially for the last three months of 2014? That is an answer that seemed to be out of the grasp of everyone on the panel.
Helping Hands of Montpelier reported that they too saw an increase of about 20 more families a month in 2014, about half of which are new and have never been to a food pantry. They average about 170 to 200 boxes a month for senior citizens, which comes out to about 5,000 to 6,000 pounds of food per month. “It’s increased a little,” said Paula Peffley of Helping Hands. “What we have is Edgerton, Pioneer, West Unity, Montpelier and Bryan Senior Centers that come and pick up for so many. This is just commodities, not anything to do with our open pantry. The senior box is pre-boxed, and we pick them up at Seagate. The box always has two cereals, two juices, a canned meat, canned vegetables and fruit, and there’s always a grain…beans, spaghetti, rice, or something like that.”
The need has obviously not subsided in our area, but an opportunity for everyone in the county to help meet that need and make a difference is just around the corner.
Last year, the first annual Feeding Williams County packaging event took place at the Bryan Middle School, and was a huge success. Last year, teams from all over Williams County packaged thousands of six-serving macaroni and cheese dinners with added soy protein that were distributed amongst the county food pantries. This year, the same bill of fare will be packaged, along with packages of red beans and rice. The event will again take place at the Bryan Middle School, and is scheduled for March 7. Once again, volunteers are needed to staff the packaging stations, with twelve people needed to staff each station. There will be two shifts of operation, from 10:00 a.m. until noon, and from noon until 2:00 p.m. The target this year is between 70,000 and 75,000 meals packaged, so the need for volunteers is profound. If you are interested in volunteering, or if you would like to volunteer a team, contact the United Way of Williams County at 419-636-8603 for more information.
A new program established by the United Way has already seen an explosive start…the We Care Cabinet. Gina Elick reported that the We Care Cabinet has already emptied out their stores of personal care supplies to the food banks with which they work. The United Way has committed more funding to the effort. “Yesterday, we had just a few items left,” said Mr. Widmer. “We’re almost out of everything at this point and time. We’ve got maybe a few underarm deodorants for men, and that’s about it.” “Obviously it’s popular,” said Ms. Sanders, “…especially the shampoo and toilet paper.”
The door always remains open for donations of any kind to the We Care Cabinet, as well as to the local food pantries in each community. If you are capable of donating and would like to find out what is needed and where, contact the United Way of Williams County at 419-636-8603. The people you are helping are your friends and neighbors in need. Helping them through the tough times will pay dividends in the future when they pass through the economic storm, and the can also contribute to the cause until the need for a Hunger Summit becomes a distant memory.
Timothy Kays can be reached at
tim@thevillagereporter.com