National Huger Action Month

Those who don’t struggle with food security issues have the option of going to the grocery store, picking out what they want, going home, and making it. Or they can go to a restaurant and order what they want. When you live in poverty, food can be difficult to come by. Beyond that, the food that you can come by isn’t always what you want or what you need. But there are some brilliant organizations in Northwest Ohio who work tirelessly to make life a little bit easier for those in need.

Stop into one of Food for Thought’s mobile food pantries and you’ll find yourself in the middle of a tiny little community. Food for Thought’s pantries are housed in community centers, churches, etc. intentionally.

In their own words “The key to our mobile pantry is really pretty simple. It’s not that we figured out how to put a food pantry on wheels. Or that we use a digital check-in system making all of our patron’s information accessible anywhere we go.

The key to our mobile pantry is… it isn’t our pantry. Of course its our vehicle and we are responsible for getting there. But, once we arrive it really becomes someone else’s food pantry.

From day one, the most thoughtful aspect of our Mobile Pantry program has been the shared nature of each stop. We work with committed community partners who are rooted in and serving their communities every day. They have the network, we have the trailer. They have the trust of their neighbors, we have the relationships with donors & food banks. They are there before we arrive and long after we are gone.

Our mobile pantries aren’t like the ice cream truck. We don’t need music… we have key relationships with community organizations. So, when it’s time to get the word out we lean on their unique knowledge of how to communicate with their people. When it comes time to pick the date & time, we benefit from their knowledge of their community.

Then, when it comes time to get groceries in the hands of those with a critical need… they lean on us. We bring the expertise, the food inventory, the ability to qualify clients, store information and handle long lines of people.”

Over the next week, we’ll take some time to highlight some of these wonderful organizations that help fight hunger and poverty on the home front.  For example, view the Children’s Hunger Alliance press release for details about a media event on September 18, 2013:  Hunger Action Month Media Event invitation