JEFFERSON COUNTY, OH (WTRF) – With SNAP benefits paused during the government shutdown, families across Jefferson County are feeling the impact. Now, United Way is stepping up to make sure no one goes hungry.
With federal SNAP benefits on hold during the shutdown, food insecurity is growing — and United Way of Jefferson County is working to fill the gap.
“The timing just essentially just happened perfect with SNAP and Mid-Ohio making cuts. Now we can give essentially 15, 30,000 meals to our residents maybe even more.”
Marci Snyder Crawford | Executive Director, United Way of Jefferson County
United Way is teaming up with Meals of Hope to package thousands of freeze-dried meals that will go straight to local pantries. Volunteers will gather December 8 at Franciscan University to assemble them — with supplies already on the way and hands ready to help.
“Seeing that the community will stand up like as down as we are right now, our community is gonna stand up and rally, and we’ll figure it out — gonna happen.”
Marci Snyder Crawford
Funding has poured in from community partners and county leaders, putting the effort on track to reach its first 15,000-meal goal.
“Already have 1,500 from ADP and 250 for McBain Insurance and now the commissioners just gave us 5,000 so essentially, we hit 6,500 for 15,000 meals. The more money we get the more meals we can make.”
Marci Snyder Crawford
Every dollar counts, and it doesn’t take much to make an impact.
“It’s $.45 a meal essentially so even $10 can put so many meals in the hands of people that need it.”
Marci Snyder Crawford
Organizers say it shows that even in difficult times, the community finds a way to lift each other up.
BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) – A local nonprofit is seeking to help feed families in need on Tuesday morning and is looking for assistance.
Led by nonprofit United Way Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, their goal is to provide over 140,000 meals to families across the Valley.
They’re looking for volunteers to lead a meal packing line. Also collaborating with United Way Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley is Direction Home of Eastern Ohio and Meals of Hope to help distribute food across the region.
The event starts at 9:30 a.m. at the United Way Volunteer Resource Center on Market Street in Boardman. Supplies, training, and equipment will be provided.
The meals packed will be distributed through Gleaners Food Bank, MYCAP, United Way, and Heart Reach Ministries, reaching older adults and families throughout the region in the coming weeks.
BOARDMAN More than 300 volunteers from the Youngstown community are expected to gather today to pack over 125,000 meals in a collaborative effort to fight hunger.
The meal packing event, a partnership between the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, Direction Home of Eastern Ohio, and Meals of Hope, is being held at the United Way Volunteer Center in Boardman.
The day is split into two packing sessions. Volunteers are scheduled to pack a soup mix from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and an oatmeal mix from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The volunteers are a core part of the event, providing the labor needed to assemble the non-perishable meals. Meals of Hope, a nonprofit focused on ending hunger, provides the ingredients, equipment, and event organization.
The meals are designed for the American palate with added vitamins, minerals, and proteins, are often donated to the Feeding America Food Bank Network.
Meals of Hope prioritizes keeping the packed food within the United States. The organization maintains a warehouse in Ohio, part of its over 48,000 square feet of space across the country dedicated to supporting its mission.
The local partners contribute to a shared goal of community support. The United Way works to educate and empower children and families in the Mahoning Valley. Direction Home of Eastern Ohio focuses on coordinating services that allow older adults and people with disabilities to live safely in their homes.
BOARDMAN — If you traveled one mile for every package of soup and hot cereal that was assembled then distributed, you would find yourself more than halfway to the moon.
“We’re trying to do easy-to-package items that are easy for families to make,” Cassandra Valentini, Direction Home of Eastern Ohio’s chief community development and public relations director, said.
Valentini was referring to shelf-stable packets of apple-cinnamon oatmeal and vegetable rice soup that will be distributed to area agencies such as Gleaners Food Bank, the Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership, Heart Reach Neighborhood Ministries and United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. The items will then be supplied to many area senior citizens and families who are facing food insecurities and other struggles, Valentini noted.
An estimated 128,000 simple-to-prepare, high-nutrition packages of both meals were assembled, courtesy of more than 300 volunteers who took part in a Pack the Valley event Tuesday morning and afternoon at the United Way Volunteer Resource Center, 8133 Market St.
The seven-hour massive gathering also was a collaboration between Direction Home of Eastern Ohio, United Way, Meals of Hope and other community partners.
The center resembled a sea of blue as hundreds of volunteers of all ages wore blue sweatshirts and busily mixed the ingredients and packaged the items. Among the teams of workers were Olivia Lesky, Reese McNee and Gia Guerrieri, all South Range High School seniors and National Honor Society members.
“We do stuff like this all the time,” Lesky said, adding that community-service projects are a major thrust behind the students’ NHS chapter.
Given her track record, Tuesday’s event was par for the course for Lesky, because her volunteer efforts also have included planting trees at a Canfield wildlife preserve and giving her time at the Silver Lining Cancer Fund, where she manages its social media page and organizes clothing for those with the disease.
In addition, Lesky and the other students have worked on behalf of United Way’s Saturday of Caring, in which volunteers meet the third Saturday of each month to unload grocery trucks, then pack bags of nonperishable and fresh food to be distributed to several hundred homes across the Valley.
“We’re all in the same community,” Lesky said.
“The timing of this is very appropriate. The holidays are coming and food benefits for many are in jeopardy,” Becky Wall, Dearing Compressor & Pump Co.’s chief executive officer, said, referring to SNAP benefits for many ending Saturday because of the federal government shutdown. “We believe this community is very giving.”
At one point Tuesday, Wall and several Dearing employees teamed up to assemble and mix dehydrated carrots, rice, chicken broth, peas and corn for the soup packages.
After a lunch break, other volunteers gathered around large tables to assemble the apple-cinnamon oatmeal packets.
“It’s amazing to see all of these people giving up their time to put together meals for people in need. It’s heartwarming and amazing,” Jen Markewicz of Columbus said.
For her part, Markewicz, who’s with Meals of Hope, teamed up with her husband, Jeremy Markewicz, to ready soup packages for distribution. Meals of Hope has a warehouse in Dayton that prepares food items to be shipped to sites across the state, she noted.
Tuesday’s Pack the Valley event was timely also because older adults represent the fastest growing population to visit food banks, largely because many of them are on fixed incomes. In addition, Pack the Valley can be helpful to individuals who are unable to get to area food banks because of poor health or lack of transportation, Valentini said, adding that the average Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit for an older person is about $25 per month.
Also, Pack the Valley aligns with United Way’s mission of assisting those who are vulnerable and displaying compassion, empathy and hope to them while leaving positive footprints in the Valley, Bob Hannon, UW’s president, said.
“This has exceeded every expectation,” he said about Tuesday’s event.
Hannon stressed that any nonprofit agency or entity is “more than welcome” to use the volunteer resource center. Those have included Catholic Charities Regional Agency and the American Red Cross, he said.
“This is why we have this facility,” Hannon added.
Meals of Hope, a national nonprofit dedicated to combating food insecurity, celebrated the grand opening of its Ohio chapter on Saturday, March 15th, with a highly successful meal-packing event in Hilliard. In partnership with the Hilliard Food Pantry, Kiwanis Club of Hilliard, and the Hilliard United Methodist Church, nearly 200 volunteers packed over 50,000 nutritious meals for Central Ohio families.
The event, held from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., marked the official launch of Meals of Hope’s presence in Ohio. Spearheaded by Hilliard resident Jen Markewicz and her family, the event brought together nearly 200 volunteers from multiple different organizations, including McKesson, Hilliard Church of Christ, Knights of Columbus, Moose Lodge, Parker Hannifin, and Hilliard Davidson High School to address the growing need for food assistance in the region.
Meals of Hope has a 17-year history of organizing community-driven meal-packing events across the United States. To date, the organization has mobilized over 250,000 volunteers and packed more than 100 million meals. The Ohio chapter aims to continue this impactful work by providing local organizations with a tangible way to support their communities.
“Our goal for volunteer turnout was 100 people. When nearly 200 people showed up, I was overwhelmed with emotion and pride for my Central Ohio Community,” said Jen Markewicz. “The event was full of energy, excitement, and people working together for 2 hours to pack 5 pallets of a pasta meal that will be distributed right here in our community. Over 50,000 meals!”
The packed meals will be distributed through the Hilliard Food Pantry and Kiwanis Club of Hilliard to food-insecure families in Central Ohio. Meals of Hope in Ohio is now open and actively seeking partnerships with organizations interested in hosting future meal-packing events. These events offer a unique team-building experience while directly addressing food insecurity.
Organizations interested in volunteering or hosting a Meals of Hope event can contact the Ohio chapter at (614) 636-1026 or visit https://mealsofhope.org/ohiosouth/. Meals of Hope is available to set up events anywhere and encourages any organization looking to make a direct impact on their community to reach out.
About Meals of Hope:
Meals of Hope is a national nonprofit organization that empowers communities to combat hunger through hands-on meal-packing events. For over 15 years, Meals of Hope has brought together volunteers from businesses, organizations, and communities to package nutritious meals for those in need.
