Local food bank okay this
month, hopefully next month too! By JANEY SAVING, for The Logan
Daily News
LOGAN - Imagine if your food
bill was $7,500 per month. That
was the cost of providing more
than 650 families and
individuals with food during the
Smith Chapel Food Ministry
monthly food distribution
Monday.
Perhaps Bill Clinton should have
made a stop in Hocking County
Monday while he was in the area
- to learn how folks in rural
Ohio and Appalachia struggle to
make ends meet each month.
Vehicles were parked along Front
Street for hours as local
residents waited for Smith
Chapel Food Ministry volunteers
to pack their cars with a
variety of food products
including bread, buns, Quaker
Oats, canned goods, frozen
pizza, potatoes and cabbage, to
name a few.
According to Dannie Devol, Smith
Chapel Food Ministry program
coordinator, a total of 653
families and individuals passed
through the food line.
"We were thrilled that we had so
many quality products to give
away this time. People seemed
really pleased with the variety
of foods that were included in
their food boxes," he said.
As noted, the cost of the
February food drive was in
excess of $7,500.
Video thanks to Athens County Jobs & Family Service, by Charles J. Dorsey
"Often times people think that
because we are a food pantry we
get these items for free but
nothing could be further from
the truth. We must purchase
these products from the Hocking,
Athens, Perry Community Action
Regional Food Center for .18
cents per pound. However, lately
supplies have been limited at
the foodbank - so we have had to
seek other sources in order to
have enough food to give away at
our monthly food distributions,"
Devol explained.
In addition, he noted that when
it is necessary to purchase
additional food products from
other suppliers and wholesalers
- they have to pay more for the
products than they do when
buying them from the local
foodbank.
One resident, who chose not to
be identified, said that she was
making her way through the food
line for the second consecutive
month. She said that she really
appreciates the service offered
by the Smith Chapel Food Pantry.
"I'm retired and live on a small
income. Having this food
distribution on the fourth week
of the month - helps us to make
it through until the first of
the month when we get our social
security checks. The high cost
of gasoline and heating bills
during the winter months has
really cut into our food budget
- so this really helps out," she
said.
Franklin Welch and his wife,
Thelma, are also recipients of
the food supplements each month.
"This is so important for people
like us who live on a limited
income. I don't know what we
would do without it. We really
appreciate the food pantry's
generosity and all of their hard
work" he said.
Mr. Welch was also questioned by
Tim Jones, reporter for the
Chicago Tribune. He asked Mr.
Welch if he thought the
approaching election was
important.
Mr. Welch replied, "Absolutely.
It looks like Ohio will be very
important state in the upcoming
election. I believe that Ohio
voters will determine the
Democratic nominee for
president. Years ago, I used to
be afraid to tell people that I
am a Democrat - now I proudly
tell them that I am a Democrat
and will support the candidate
who gets the nomination.
Listen to our
interview on
American Public
Media on Public
Radio from early
July, 2008 with Dick
Gordon.
Click HERE!
"We need a president who will
not forget about the people in
southeast Ohio. We need jobs and
healthcare. Some people go to
Columbus to work for five to
seven dollars per hour - with
gasoline being over $3 per
gallon - they can't afford to
drive there for that amount of
wages.
Mr. Welch, who is retired as a
township employee, is also a
veteran.
"I'm fortunate because I can get
treatment and medication through
the veterans but there are
people without any medical
coverage at all. We need a
president who will take care of
that," he said.
The Chicago Tribune reporter was
asked what brings him outside of
his normal beat within the
borders of Illinois; he said
that he visited Logan four years
ago to report on the local food
pantries efforts. He admitted
that the need to help feed the
hungry in Hocking County has
grown since that time.
"We are also trying to get a
feel for how Ohio citizens may
cast their votes in the primary
Tuesday. I haven't seen this
much excitement and anticipation
about a presidential election
since 1968," the reporter noted.
Smith Chapel Food Ministry is
one of the 15 agencies supported
in part by United Way of Hocking
County.
"We are fortunate that we have
never had to solicit for funds,"
Devol said. "With United Way
funding, generous donations from
local individuals, churches,
businesses and organizations -
we manage to continue with the
monthly food distributions."
"In December of 2007, we were
blessed to meet Jeff Davidson, a
resident of Dublin, who
established the Angel Donors
Fund at the Columbus Foundation
that is designed to assist
people who are struggling to
meet their basic needs. We have
already benefited from the Angel
Donors Fund because it helped us
to purchase additional food
products for our food
distributions for the past few
months. We appreciate Mr.
Davidson's efforts, as well as
the funding from United Way and
other local donors. We also
appreciate the more than 50
volunteers who help out with the
food distributions each month,"
Devol concluded.
Smith Chapel Food Pantry:
I had the honor of working at
the Smith Chapel Food Pantry and
taking a quick tour of the
Hocking-Athens-Perry Community
Action Food Bank on Monday. It
was an eye-opening experience to
see the line of cars stretching
for miles, all of them filled
with people who needed food in
order to feed their families. It
was also a worthwhile experience
to see how the food bank
operates and to hear about the
number of families who are
getting Meals-on-Wheels service,
as well hear about how many
people could be served but
aren't due to a lack of
available money.
Some people think that the
government has no business
helping food pantries and food
banks serve the needs of people.
They think that churches should
do more. Well, after watching
how the Smith Chapel Food Pantry
operates and seeing how many
people they serve, this church
and this community is doing all
they can. Government has a duty
to protect its citizens. I
believe that the efforts of the
federal and state governments to
help these institutions out are
worthy goals and we should try
to do more.
Posted By: Dan Dodd, Ohio State
Representative, March, 26, 2008
