The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Food pantry reaches to 500 families
Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio continued it’s drive-thru food pantry campaign Aug. 12 with a stop at Wellington High School.
Vehicles filled the parking lot, at 629 N. Main St., as members of the Ohio National Guard, Wellington Exempted Village Schools, Wellington Police Department and the Educational Service Center of Lorain County loaded boxes of food into open trunks.
“Our social worker, Samantha Hess, was halftime Wellington, halftime Midview last year,” said Dave Kish, assistant superintendent of the ESC.
“And she did a great job, along with our other social workers, in coordinating these events over the summer,” said Kish. “The social workers have made sure families in the county, and some outside the county, were registered and had their needs met.
“We are so grateful for Wellington to be able to host, and for the National Guard, for helping us out as well as Second Harvest and the local police department.”
Brittney Hopkins, program and education coordinator at Second Harvest, said she was glad they could help address the need.
“We are doing another food distribution, and this is our first one at Wellington High School,” Hopkins said. “We brought enough food to feed 500 families in Wellington and the surrounding communities.
“We coordinated with the Education Service Center of Lorain County. Their social workers saw the need because this is one of the schools that they service, and we are just here to support.”
Among the Wellington Exempted Village Schools volunteers was district superintendent Ed Weber, who said it was great to have the help of Second Harvest and the National Guard.
“We’re all excited about helping out,” Weber said. “It’s going really well, the Guard has this running real smoothly.
“I’m breaking down boxes and we have other volunteers doing different jobs. It’s great to have them down here in Wellington.
“It also showcases some of our staff members and the work they do to support the community,” Weber said.