Nordson gift will feed many

Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio received a well-deserved boost March 2 when the Nordson Corporation donated an extraordinary $500,000 to the agency, but it will need more to continue its battle against food insecurity among area residents.

The food bank kicked off its annual Harvest for Hunger campaign, which is its biggest fundraising drive of the year.

The Harvest for Hunger campaign, which officially began March 1 and will end in May, is an important component in the overall operation of Second Harvest.

Sundaram “Naga” Nagarajan, president and CEO of Nordson Corporation, who is the 2023 honorary chairperson for the Harvest for Hunger campaign, announced the $500,000 to Second Harvest during a happy hour event at its warehouse, 5510 Baumhart Road in Lorain.

Nagarajan then presented the large cardboard check to Julie Chase-Morefield, president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio.

The funds will assist Second Harvest with some of its most pressing emergency needs that impact the community and to reach its goal of serving 3 million meals this year.

Nagarajan calls the donation a consequential gift, but it’s also a reflection of the Nordson Corporation.

Nagarajan and Nordson Corporation recognized there is a great need in the community. The sizeable donation will make a big difference.

Harvest for Hunger is a collaborative effort of four food banks covering 21 counties in Northeast Ohio and is one of the nation’s largest food and fund drives.

The campaign has two major components: Group campaigns and Check Out Hunger.

Locally, more than 120 businesses, schools, organizations and families are holding food and fund drives at various times throughout March, April and May.

Local supermarkets are working together to Check Out Hunger. Supermarket shoppers can scan a $1, $5 or $10 coupon at the register to support Harvest for Hunger.

Supermarkets participating in Check Out Hunger are Giant Eagle, Heinen’s Fine Foods and Buehler’s Fresh Foods.

In 2022, the campaign raised enough food and funds to provide 2.8 million meals to local food pantries, hot meal sites and other emergency food programs.

However, the 2023 Community Campaign for Harvest for Hunger is a little bit more ambitious with it goal of 3 million meals. Funds and foods will restock local food pantries and provide hot meals at local kitchens and shelters in Crawford, Erie, Huron and Lorain counties.

And Chase-Morefield is extraordinarily grateful for the gift from the Nordson Corporation.

Chase-Morefield also is thankful to Nagarajan and the Nordson Corporation for their ongoing partnership, insight and concern and subsequent action toward solving some of these very serious problems in the community.

Second Harvest still is seeing a 30% increase in demand from pre-coronavirus pandemic numbers.

The food bank anticipates the need could increase by 20% to 30% among community members, especially seniors, disabled persons and families with children.

That’s why the funds from the Nordson Corporation and the community are so important.

So many people will benefit from Nordson Corporation gift and other donations.

When people are hungry and don’t know where their next meal will come from, it’s a problem. It’s an emergency and everything else becomes secondary.

Food is a basic need and people shouldn’t have to choose between buying groceries, paying for utilities or getting essential medications.

Couple that need with inflation hitting a 40-year high, putting food on tables becomes harder on families.

So, the Harvest for Hunger campaign is rallying individuals, businesses and organizations in the community to join this important effort to help combat hunger and create access to nutritious meals.

In addition to the community campaign, the Nordson Corporation gift will be used to address the pressing need for emergency food assistance brought on by the pandemic, and exacerbated by the end of the SNAP Emergency Allotments and other COVID-19 era supports along with rising inflation on food costs.

The federal SNAP program, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, provides food-buying assistance for low-income people and those without an income.

Second Harvest and its food pantries have known for months that the additional SNAP benefits would end and that they expect to see an influx of people on a more regular basis.

But, the unprecedented $500,000 gift from the Nordson Corporation and the people who will donate to the Harvest for Hunger campaign will assist many local families with food.