Food distribution set for next week

As the coronavirus pandemic has stretched out to almost a year in length, so has the need for food by those affected financially. In response, First Call for Help Fostoria, a part of the United Way of Fostoria, has continued to partner with other local agencies to host food drives to assist the area's needy.After seven such events in 2020, the last happening in early December, another is set for Thursday, March 4 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in Fostoria Elementary School's south parking lot. First Call for Help Fostoria is collaborating with the West Ohio Food Bank in Lima, the Ohio National Guard's Lima base, Pantry Plus of Seneca County, the Geary Family YMCA and Fostoria City Schools to conduct the distribution."We tried to get one scheduled in February, but it just didn't work out, just with the weather and other things going on," said Libra Martin, coordinator of First Call for Help Fostoria. "It's been a long time coming, trying to get it all figured out."Goods from the West Ohio Food Bank in Lima will be distributed drive-through style, with members of the Ohio National Guard items base loading items into vehicles' trunks and waybacks. Those receiving food will stay in their vehicles to minimize the possibility of transmitting the highly contagious and potentially deadly virus."The last one we did, in December, we had 473 households that came out, and when you break that down to how many individuals were served, it was over 1,400," Martin said. "I anticipate that, since we haven't had one in roughly three months, we'll have that many there and possibly even more than that (on Thursday)."Tommie Harner, chief executive officer of the West Ohio Food Bank, said in an email that it will provide "at least 20,000 pounds (of food) to distribute, if not more."She wrote: "We try to provide a variety of foods, from meats, soups, vegetables, beverages, bakery items, produce, and we have what is called Farmers to Families Food Boxes containing milk, cheese, produce, pre-cooked meat, etc."Harner said the food bank has distributed 8.2 million pounds of food in various locations since July 1, 2020. During the entire fiscal year of 2019-2020 (July 1 through June 30) it distributed slightly more than 10 million pounds."This shows the increased need we have seen over the past eight months and will end our June 30 fiscal year with closer to 12 million pounds distributed, or more," she wrote.Indeed, the need has been felt locally, Martin said."We get calls almost weekly: 'When will be the next one?'" she said. "We also just get calls from individuals who maybe didn't even know we did food drives but call just wondering where they can get food. We definitely see that there's still a need."Last year's seven local food drives ended up assisting 9,791 individuals from 3,105 households, Martin said. Both she and Harner said they credit all of the volunteer assistance they receive, and just as they did in the heat of the summer, precautions have and will be taken to help keep those folks safe in the conditions.Harner, who worked for 15 years at the food bank before becoming CEO, and Martin had kudos for each other and their organizations with being able to conduct successful events in the city."It's just nice to know that, with all the partnerships, we're able to assist all of these people with food," Martin said. "And I think it just shows the food and security issues that we have in the area."Those desiring food on Thursday are asked not to arrive prior to 10:15 a.m. To receive food, a family representative must be in the vehicle with photo identification. No more than two families should be represented in each vehicle. Space should be allowed in each vehicle's trunk or wayback for food to be placed.For more information, contact First Call for Help Fostoria at (419) 435-2555.