LeDonna Hood knew the numbers were up significantly for Greenfield-Central’s summer meal giveaway, but the final numbers still blew her away.
“We served 29,335 meals in 34 days throughout June and July,” said Hood, summer meals coordinator for the Greenfield-Central schools.
That’s nearly triple the amount handed out last summer, when 9,697 meals were served.
Hood said a staff of 22 handed out an average of 863 meals a day this year, spread out across six different sites in the district.
“We are very blessed to be able to provide this kind of program to all of those in need in our community. There was a lot of hard work, sweat, and maybe a few tears in the beginning, but our food service department did a wonderful job,” she said. “We can’t wait to see what next year brings.”
Howard Green, board president for Hancock County Food Pantry, said the pantry has also experienced increased demand in recent months.
“We experienced about a 19% increase in the first six months of this year over the first six months of last year,” he shared.
Green said the pantry saw 106 new families sign up in June, compared to an average of 55 new families per month in the five months prior.
More clients are also visiting the pantry twice a month versus once a month — 44% of clients this first half of this year versus 38% the first half of last year.
Increased demand over the summer is standard, said Green, with July and August being the two busiest months of the year.
He attributes that children being out of school; feeding them stretches a family’s food budget more than usual, especially for families getting government assistance with school lunches.
Green said over a third of the family members who registered for food pantry service during the first half of this year were between the ages of 1 and 17.
While the number of visits to the pantry typically increases during the summer months, Green said the number stayed elevated throughout the second half of last year.
“The amount of food we give out depends on what we have available. Our choices for the clients can vary day to day depending on what is delivered or donated,” said Green, adding that many families turn to the food pantry after a breadwinner loses a job.
Times are tough, Green said, which is why he’s thrilled to see Greenfield-Central’s summer meals program serving so many people.
“No kids should go hungry,” he said.
“Studies have shown it affects behavior, learning ability and overall development and growth of the kids. If we all tried to go without food for 24 hours, you (could) definitely see it in the attitudes of everyone. Try it sometime, and you will see a difference in yourself,” said Green, who started volunteering at the pantry in 2011 after enduring a 24-hour fast.
When it comes to battling food scarcity, it takes a village, he said.
Greenfield-Central’s summer meals program could very well lighten the burden on the food pantry, said Green, since families might need less assistance.
While Greenfield-Central’s summer food program is federally funded, Green said local food pantries rely on the generosity of others.
“We continue to pray the Lord will work through others to help meet the demand,” he said, adding that local churches and individuals have been generously supplying the pantry with fresh produce.
“We also have a number of stories of truckers who call with product that stores rejected for non-food-safety issues, like ordering too much,” said Green, who recently received 12 pallets of asparagus and broccoli.
Volunteers at local food programs keep each other in mind when they have a surplus of food to spread around, he said.
“We are also blessed with groups like Kiwanis and churches providing food and cash donations to help meet demand,” Green added.
Cash donations are the most impactful, he said, since the pantry can acquire more food for less money when purchasing through Gleaners Food Bank as opposed to grocery stores.
The pantry can sometimes buy a 12-ounce package of bacon for 16 cents, for example, or hamburger patties for 20 cents a pound.
Green said the degree to which Hancock County Food Pantry is stocked ebbs and flows.
“Last week we were down to our last packages of chicken, and a trucker called and said, ‘I have 20 cases of chicken wings (25 pounds),’ so food for 100 client visits,” he said.
The pantry gets a delivery from Gleaners three times a month, in addition to what volunteers pick up from Walmart, Dollar General or Needlers.
“We are blessed with our pantry partners. When food is low we have to reduce choices for the clients, but when we have plenty of food we keep it moving … It is better to have clients have food than sitting in our pantry,” Green said.
Both cash and food donations are always welcome, he said. Cereal and peanut butter are the most popular items, but all nonperishable food items are accepted.
“We have a large box out front of the pantry for donation dropoffs any time, or call and we can arrange for someone to be there for larger donations,” Green said.
When people ask how they can help, Green tells them the pantry could use three things: donations, volunteers and prayers.