Food distribution Friday; Reinhart is happy to help

West Ohio Food Bank and St. Paul's United Church of Christ are having their monthly, contactless food distribution this Friday morning from 10 a.m.-noon at the Auglaize County Engineer's Garage, located at 1014 S. Blackhoof St. Those interested can line up starting at 9 a.m. across the street in the Path Labs/doctors office parking lot.

To qualify for the distribution, those applying must be 18 years or older with a valid photo ID, be at or below 230% of federal poverty guidelines and sign or check-in a self-declaration stating you're eligible to take food home. Only two households are allowed per vehicle, and there should be enough space in the trunk to allow for food to be loaded.

And while much has been said regarding the event, Douglas Reinhart, the Auglaize County Engineer, is happy to lend the needed space. This will be the fourth consecutive month at the garage.

"There's potentially a lot of winter and inclement weather yet before spring," Reinhart said. "… You have all the people who donated the food, donated to the cause, and people are in need. So I would hate to see inclement weather not get these supplies to the people who need it."

Besides sheltering cars, the garage provides space for members of the National Guard who help direct traffic, organize and provide food.

He cited last week's snow storm as a reason why the food drive hasn't changed locations.

Reinhart also didn't dismiss the idea his garage could stop hosting these events once the weather improves, though he said as of now the guard's presence hasn't been an issue.

"We get here at 7 a.m., and

the crews are out, they're gone," Reinhart said. "The mechanics, they're still able to work… and continue to do their work, so… it's not really causing us a disruption at all."

Reinhart said if the distributions caused problems, he wouldn't hesitate to reconsider their arrangement.

As for when his office would stop lending space, Reinhart wasn't sure.

"Maybe a month from now we'll talk with [West Ohio Food Bank and St. Paul's UCC] and see, 'are you able to schedule it outside,'" Reinhart said.

He said he's been impressed with the organization's efficiency and the amount of people these events have brought in.

"[I'm] very impressed on being able to distribute 32,000 pounds of food in two hours," he said. "That's 16 tons of food in two hours."

Reinhart admitted he's learned a lot about seeing people in need, especially in the wake of a pandemic thats caused large job loss.

He said he and his wife started donating monetarily last March and continue supporting the organization.