Second Harvest planning mobile food pantry

Cars are expected to line Oberlin Street in front of Ely Stadium, 1915 Middle Ave. in Elyria on April 1 as Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio hosts a mobile food pantry.

From noon to 3 p.m., the food pantry is expecting to help 700 families with meals, said Susan Bartosch, director of external affairs for Second Harvest.

With the help of the Ohio National Guard, State Highway Patrol and Elyria police officers, Bartosch said the pantry should run smoothly.

“The logistics for this pantry have been really important,” she said. “It’s amazing for us to see all of these groups come together to help benefit the community.”

Since March 16, Second

Harvest has seen an increase in the number of residents using its services.

“We’ve seen our numbers double,” Bartosch said. “In some cases we’ve seen our distributions go from 150 to 180 packages to over 500.

“We’ve locked our building thanks to the National Guard. We didn’t want to put our volunteers at risk. We’re here every day with trucks of food, packing boxes to distribute to different communities and our partner charities.”

With the increase in families utilizing the mobile food pantry, the hours were adjusted to make sure everyone could come through.

“We’re trying to do one major food pantry in Elyria one week, then Lorain the next,” Bartosch said. “It’s a nice rotation to get everyone what they need.”

Police officers and Highway

Patrol troopers are going to direct traffic in and out of the stadium.

Bartosch said strict protocols are being enforced to ensure the safety of the everyone involved.

“Everyone’s trunk has to be cleaned out,” she said. “If it’s full, they have to pull out and empty it then come back.

“Trunks are going to be checked to make sure we can fit the groceries back there. We can’t put them in the back seat or sides because we need to meet that six feet distance.”

Bartosch said with the extra help from law enforcement, she believes the food bank will continue making a difference.

“It’s required a lot of logistics and lot of cooperation and we’ve made it work,” she said. “It’s amazing to see everyone working together.”