Although food assistance programs throughout Athens County report minimal change in demand or activity during the Easter season, they continue to rely on innovative donations, their own resourcefulness and the promotion of an inclusive environment to provide for those in need.
Athens is home to many people who struggle to keep food on the table and has a poverty rate of over 30 percent among families in 2010, according the U.S. Census Bureau.
To attempt to meet the needs of the community, 15 sources of food assistance exist in Athens County. Some provide a weekly free meal while others accumulate bags of groceries, which are distributed to those in need in food boxes.
“It’s sad that so many need this assistance, that so many are struggling,” said Nick Claussen, spokesman for Athens County Job and Family Services.
Claussen said he works at the Athens County Food Pantry, which has given out over 400 food boxes per month for the past nine months.
Though different, each organization faces a similar set of challenges such as securing funds, meeting the needs of individuals and keeping the shelves well stocked.
With the help of volunteers and donations, each organization pulls through for its patrons month after month.
Duane Bogart, the program director of the Community Food Initiatives’ Donation Station, has a catch-phrase, which he repeats from his post at the Athens Farmers Market every Saturday: “Be a hero, donate $2.”
The Donation Station is dedicated to providing healthy, fresh produce to Athens’ hungry. Each Saturday, Bogart encourages the market’s patrons to contribute a few dollars.
With that money, he purchases black beans, cornmeal, rice, bread and much more.
In addition to accepting donations from the farmers themselves, he also implores individuals to “Grow an extra row in your garden to help feed the hungry.”
Using those techniques, he is able to then distribute locally grown fare to food banks throughout Athens.
The food pantry at the Athens Community Church is among those that distribute fresh produce from the Donation Station. The pantry runs on a zero budget, so Nadia Mitchell, the organization’s coordinator, appreciates Bogart’s efforts almost as much as the pantry’s patrons do.
Mitchell said that the overwhelming majority of those who use the food bank are in significant need.
“Many come in and say, ‘Anything you have, we will eat,’ ” Mitchell said. “Most of the time, they call with reluctance.”
Once someone has called upon the food pantry for assistance, however, the Athens Community Church tries to help him or her solve more problems than just hunger.
The church works to coordinate child support and transportation, as well as make people aware of other resources available to them, such as job fairs and the Pregnancy Resource Center. Their Celebrate Recovery support group aims to help people to overcome “a hurt, habit or hang-up.”
“People should not make the assumption that people are taken care of in our country,” Mitchell said.
To that end, she, like Bogart, works to make a little bit go a long way. Mitchell requests that those who wish to donate to do so in the form of cash. This way, she can use the money to purchase what the food bank really needs for as low as 19 cents per pound from the Second Harvest Food Bank in Logan.
Food pantry volunteer Beverly Guider’s mantra, “All are welcome,” rings true in food assistance programs throughout the county.
Like the residents they help, the programs face obstacles, which they continue to work through.
In the words of Pastor Ray Ogburn of the Feed My Sheep Food Pantry, “It’s rough sometimes, but the rewards are out of this world.”
af116210@ohiou.edu
