PHOTO BY JOHN FRYMAN / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
GENEROUS DONATIONS … Barbara Taylor (left) donated a couple of bags of food items to Barb Roose (right) at the Outreach of Bryan Food Pantry.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
With the holiday season already upon us, there are those families throughout Williams County who have already been through some very tough times this year.
Meeting all those nutritional needs are the local food pantries, which have stepped up in helping them put food on the table through donations from many businesses, industries, churches, schools, and other organizations.
One of those food pantries, Helping Hands Food Pantry of Montpelier, has been assisting local families for many years, and the demand for help for those families is much greater than ever before.
“We service a lot of clients every month,” said Connie Dye-Hutchinson, director of Helping Hands Food Pantry.
“We give out from the government where we receive the senior food boxes, and those go throughout Williams County. We distribute around 160 boxes every month as they go to senior centers and various individuals.”
She added that commodity boxes are also distributed once a month, but the pantry will be discontinuing that service.
They will be going to a shopping phase for the families that need food, as the pantry will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to shop based on their income level.
The Helping Hands Food Pantry has also seen a decrease in the amount of food provided by the Food Bank of Toledo, where the pantry gets its food from.
“I don’t think the lack of food they have is because of the government shutdown,” said Dye-Hutchinson.
“I think the people needing more food has contributed to a major increase in the number of clients we had in the last month due to the shutdown.”
With organizations already conducting their own food drives throughout the holiday season in Williams County, the importance of sharing the food among families is the main priority.
“We enjoy sharing the food even more, but we like to share the love of Christ and just love with the people that come in because we do just realize they’re in a situation where they are in need of food,” said Dye-Hutchinson. “They also are in need of encouragement, and we just like to bless people.”
There was plenty of activity going on at the Helping Hands Food Pantry with volunteer workers who were quite busy putting donated food onto pantry shelves for distribution.
Dye-Hutchinson pointed out that the Montpelier High School Junior Achievement program had donated 448 pounds of food items, ranging from canned goods to baby products, while Wieland Chase LLC contributed over 700 pounds of food from employee donations.
“We just appreciate all the volunteer help we can get and also the people donating the food,” said Dye-Hutchinson.
She added that the United Way of Williams County also helped with a donation to supply baby items, paper towels, and shampoos, and appreciated their help.
“It’s our pleasure to be the ‘middle man’ to be here and be able to pass out the food,” she said. “We have a lot of fun doing it.”
Another area food pantry, Outreach of Bryan, located on the property of Wesley United Methodist Church, has seen a huge increase or people getting food due to the recent government shutdown.
“People call and say they’re desperate sometimes, but there is a lot of homeless and a lot of walk-ins, and they depend on us for the food that we have,” said Susan Laker, a volunteer with Outreach of Bryan.
The importance of helping others, especially during the holiday season, is at the forefront of the mission of the food pantry.
“It’s important because some of them don’t have homes,” said Laker. “They call, and they say, ‘I’m living in my car’, and they go to one of the gas stations and warm up a can of something.
“They’ll also ask, ‘Can you find this for us?’ because they have nothing, or they have families that are combining with each other.
“And now their house has exploded, and they have to feed all the people that come into their home. It’s very vital to them.”
Laker appreciated all of the donations to the Outreach of Bryan, saying it has been important to keep their pantry stocked. She noted there are a lot of single people who brought in canned food from their homes.
“There is a food drive going on now at St. Patrick’s School, and they’re one of many who have helped out,” said Laker.
“We’re really plugging in there for anyone that would help us and anyone who had asked me ‘what can I give,’ and I said we will take anything that is not perishable, it’s staple foods. It’s been great to help these people.”
It’s not too late to make a difference in people’s lives by donating food to twelve different food pantries located throughout Williams County.
Besides Helping Hands Food Pantry in Montpelier and Outreach of Bryan, other food pantries available in the county include St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Eastland Baptist Church, Open Hands Caring Hearts, Wesley United Methodist Church, and Bread of Life, all of Bryan.
Additional pantries include Edon Food Pantry, Edgerton Food Pantry, Outstretched Hand Food Pantry in West Unity and West Unity Church of Christ, and Stryker Community Emergency Pantry.
Source: The Village Reporter