Generous Helpings fights food insecurity

Food bank fundraiser features local restaurants

Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio presents a Generous Helpings fundraiser featuring restaurants.

Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio will host its 16th annual Generous Helpings fundraiser.

Limited to a virtual gathering in 2020, the 2021 event from 5-7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 at 5510 Baumhart Road in Lorain will feature food from local restaurants and will return to a hybrid inperson event bringing together community partners in support of addressing food insecurity.

Second Harvest’s Vice President of External Affairs Susan Bartosch said there will be 150 tickets for the in-person event.

It will be the first time in about two years that the Second Harvest team and supporters have been together in person, Bartosch said.

As the only onsite fundraiser of the year, Second Harvest will announce the Bev Lizanich Spirit of Innovation Award winner and raffle off special prizes from a Kareem Hunt of the Cleveland Browns jersey, to gifts from Chez Francois restaurant, Levit Jewelers Inc. and others.

For those not able to attend in-person, every $50 donation will include one raffle ticket entry.

The event features restaurants such as The Shipyards, Tree House Gallery and Tea Room, Lorain County Community College Dining Services, Sugar Shak, and Lorenzo’s.

In the wake of the first wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, Second Harvest’s efforts have assisted over one third of the entire population of its five-county service area, Bartosch said.

It helped 172,000 unique individuals over the past 18 months, nearly double the 88,000 individuals served in 2020, she said.

Expanding its operations to meet the growing need, guests will get a chance to enjoy great food in support of a great cause in a safe way with COVID-19 protocols and see the changes to the Baumhart Road headquarters, Bartosch said.

This year’s Generous Helpings is a chance for everyone to get together for an evening, hear some nice entertainment and enjoy some food in support of Second Harvest’s mission in helping reduce food insecurity in the region, she said.

With the help of the Ohio National Guard and other Ohio food banks, the food insecurity rate statewide is down to 11.6 percent, but there still are many in need and looking for stability.

When the first wave hit Second Harvest was serving between 4,000 to 4,500 families monthly and are presently at around 1,200 monthly, numbers that are still above pre-pandemic figures.

With the unpredictability of rising case counts and hospital ICU capacities, there is no telling which direction the trends will go, but the need still is out there and Second Harvest is continuing to respond to the needs of the community, Bartosch said.

“People may or may not be able to be working, other people are still trying to find a steady job,” she said. “So, we’re finding that that whole process of instability is still hard and people are still looking to us for help.”