United Way of Lake County Distributes another 22,550 lbs. of Food on the Heels of their May 9th Distribution of 75,277 lbs. of Food
June 18, 2018 – Mentor, OH – United Way of Lake County (UWLC) distributed 22,550 pounds of food today to 50 Lake County food pantries. The food was purchased from funds donated during their annual spring Feed Lake County Food Drive.
This distribution follows on the heels of the 75,277 pounds of food local food pantries benefited from during UWLC’s May 9, 2018 food distribution.
According to Tami Lewis, Director of Marketing & Communications for UWLC, “With children out of school now, the goal of this second distribution is to fill the shelves of our local food pantries to help ensure kids do not go hungry during the absence of school meals over their summer break.”
The 22,550 pounds of food that will be distributed is enough to provide nearly 19,000 meals.
A total of 1 in 8 Lake County residents live with food insecurity and inquiries for food rank number one among all inquiries received at Lifeline’s 2-1-1 help hotline. In 2017, there were 9,341 inquiries for food assistance.
”We’re seeing an increase of approximately 13% of families in need over last year. This number parallels the percent increase that agencies providing human services are seeing here in Lake County due mainly to the opioid crisis. We have grandmothers and great grandmothers raising their children’s children come in for help because of this,” said Mike Cosmo, food pantry coordinator of the Mentor United Methodist Church.
Pantries received a variety of the following: canned tuna and chicken, macaroni and cheese, whole grain brown rice, pasta and pasta sauce, canned spaghetti and meatballs, pasta sides, chicken noodle soup, cream of chicken soup, peas, corn, green beans, kidney beans, peanut butter and jelly, whole grain cereal, corn flakes, pancake mix and syrup, boxed meal helpers, applesauce and apple juice.
Volunteers from Lake-Geauga Recovery Centers’ Lake House were on hand to help load food into the cars and trucks of each food pantry from UWLC’s office at 9285 Progress Parkway in Mentor.
Last year, UWLC provided local food banks with enough food for nearly 205,000 meals to help feed Lake County’s hungry. They also helped provide over 28,000 congregate meals to help feed our seniors and formula was provided to 284 babies from low-income households.
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