The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
School market helps community
District, local YMCA team up to address food insecurity
Over 25,000 adults and children in Lake County struggle with food insecurity, according to the most recent data from Feeding America, a national hungerrelief organization.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture classifies households as food insecure if they experience, at some times during the year, limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods.
A food insecure household does not have access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members.
Painesville Schools and the Lake County Central YMCA teamed up to help local families in need.
This is the second year that the Central YMCA has hosted the school market, Program Director Kevin Sraj said.
“The school gets volunteers, we have local churches here and the Y gets volunteers,” Sraj said. “Not only staff, but a lot of the kids around here are from a program we have called Leaders Club, which is a volunteer-based program we have at the Y. We also work with the Cleveland Food Bank and they deliver all the food to us.”
Painesville United Methodist Church Pastor Jan Yandell, who volunteered at the market, was also pleased with the community coming together.
“This is a neat collaboration between the church, schools and YMCA,” she said.
Fresh produce was distributed at no cost to all Lake County residents on Sept. 28 at the fall school market. Salad, cauliflower, apples, bananas and bread was offered.
“It is a great resource for the community to have,” Sraj said. “We’re glad to be a part of it. The Y in itself, we don’t turn anyone away based on the inability to pay, so this is just an extension of that. It gives us and the school another way to say, ‘we’re here to support our community.’”
The next school market will be in October at Central YMCA, 933 Mentor Ave. in Painesville.
Sraj said they hope to have two additional markets in the spring.