Notes from families who we’ve helped and those who’ve given us help fuel the mission at Second Harvest throughout our response efforts. Read the comments from a mother who came through our Drive-Thru Mobile Pantry on Monday at the Lorain County Fairgrounds in Wellington:

Likely you have seen the photos and videos from here and around the country, cars lined up in a seemingly unending line waiting for food. Every car has a story, of a family struggling through this crisis and reaching out for help. A senior in a car alone calling thank you out a window, a father of three laid off from a second job and a mother of high school boys trying to feed growing minds and bodies. This past week those families numbered 4,411, a number that gives us pause. Take a moment and watch the video from last Thursday at the Lorain County Fairgrounds filmed by Northeast Ohio Drone. Every car has a story.

Hard to fathom we are more than four weeks into our COVID-19 response efforts, it feels both shorter and longer depending on the day. Distribution ramped up the week of March 16 and through Tuesday we have moved an astonishing 1.6M LBS of food and supplies through our facility and out into the community -125% higher than last year. This article is probably one of the best explanations of what is happening at food banks, including Second Harvest across the country. It was published April 8th in The New York Times: A Wave of Hunger Hits America, and Food Banks Are Swamped https://nyti.ms/3c3hftL

Strategy & Outreach

Our two goals for our response were 1) bring food and resources to our network of food pantries, shelters and hot meal programs and 2) reach out to newly affect families in every corner of our service area. Our network of food pantries, shelters & hot meal programs meet the need in our community 365 days a year in providing nutritious food to families at-risk for hunger. Our mobile pantry distributions have aimed at helping to share the burden with our partners of those seeking assistance for the very first time.

#InThisTogetherOhio:

The hashtag is summation of our work these past few weeks and of all those who are on the front lines with us. Our goal each day is to do all we can to be here for our community when it needs us.

By The Numbers:  

March was the single largest distribution month in our history with 1.1M LBS of food moving through the Nordson Food Distribution Center, a 67% increase over March 2019. In March there were almost 65,000 service events at food pantries. Bear in mind, large-scale distributions didn’t ramp up until mid-month.

News:The past few weeks have tested Second Harvest – and all of us - in ways we didn’t know possible. Our unwavering commitment is to our community and to bring every resources to bear to meet this new challenge. This week, we welcome the arrival of another group of National Guard men and women bringing our total to twenty-eight. The added capacity allows us to continue packing up to 3,000 food pantry boxes a week and still host mobile pantry distributions in areas of high need or underserved. Thank you as always to Task Force Workhorse! #TFWorkhorse.