Food pantry staff and volunteers gave a big thank you to Morrow County Chamber of Commerce members who brought many cans of peaches and contributed $117.00 in donations to the Morrow County Food Pantry at their meeting in April.
Cardington Community Food Pantry Secretary, Jean Smith presented the program with Bill Nance of the Mid-Ohio Food Bank in Grove City, Ohio.
Smith said that the Cardington Community Food Pantry is the only one in the county to include a Farmers Market with fresh produce. Cardington’s food pantry is held at the United Methodist Church and is sponsored by seven churches in the area. 289 families were served at the Cardington Community Food Pantry in 2016.
Other food pantries in Morrow County include Trinity United Methodist pantry and ‘End of the Month Meal’ in Mount Gilead, Morrow County Food Pantry in Mount Gilead, Marengo United Methodist Church, Edison Enterprise Baptist and No Limits Outreach in Edison.
Trinity’s Food Pantry is one of the first if not the first food pantry in the county. It was started by Alice Bardo who realized there were many who needed food at the end of the month before checks came in. So she started a pantry and church members continue to serve an “End of the Month Meal” to those who come to the pantry.
Edison Enterprise helps distribute food from the Food Bank to other pantries and Marengo has a Clothing Closet at their church pantry. No Limits helps those with mental health challenges. Nance said the areas of Morrow County that have a need, but no nearby food pantry are Iberia and Johnsville.
Nance said that the vision of Mid-Ohio Food Bank is for a hunger-free and healthier community. Their goal is to lift people up so that they have needs of food taken care of and are able to concentrate on work and job education. Mid-Ohio serves 20 counties and Nance works in a 12 county region. He gives credit to the many dedicated volunteers who keep the pantries stocked and running.
Stores, wholesalers and the government are sources for Mid-Ohio Food Bank. Kroger’s “round-up to a dollar” is much appreciated. Kroger’s program brought in $10,000 in the past year.
Nance said that for every $1.00 donated, four meals are provided. 31 percent of clients at pantries are children under 18 years old and 17 percent are senior citizens.
Participating in the Chamber of Commerce meeting are from left: Bill Nance of Mid-Ohio
Food Bank, Brenda Harden and Teresa Shipman of Morrow County Food Pantry and
Jean Smith of Cardington Community Food Pantry.
Jean Smith, Secretary for Cardington Community Food Pantry and Bill Nance of
Mid-Ohio Food Bank gather peaches donated by Chamber of Commerce members.
