Food bank workers ramp up for season of need
Witnessing acts of kindness as the holiday season approaches is commonplace for food bank workers.
That generosity as need increases in fall and winter is what keeps the food banks providing for families in need.
Connie Burd, executive director of Greater Washington County Food Bank, said requests for food increase by 25 percent as winter approaches.
Meeting goals 125 percent above the standard is not difficult with the outpouring of generosity that comes with the holiday season, she said.
“It’s a very giving time of year,” she said. “People are very generous.”
She said her colleague, director of development Steve Soff, stopped by a local Giant Eagle to drop off information about Fall FoodShare, a program that allows shoppers to make food or monetary donations. As Soff was leaving, a man who was dressed in biker clothing approached him.
“He had a whole cart of groceries that he just donated,” Burd said. “Those kinds of stories are just really heartfelt.”
She referenced other programs, including Hunters Sharing the Harvest and 2,000 Turkeys, as helping to keep families fed in the most difficult season. The 2,000 Turkeys program provides protein so the food bank can focus on providing nonperishable items like macaroni and peanut butter.
“Fillers like that help people get through the long, hard winter,” she said.
Cokeburg resident Betty Lou Amorose raises funds through her Halloween donations, and many schools, churches and corporations make regular donations, she said.
“So it really is a community effort,” she said. “We’re just so incredibly thankful for those that give.”
Greene County Corner Cupboard Food Bank Director Jan Caldwell said they, too, are being supported by corporations and schools holding drives over the holidays.
Rosemary Monich, director of the Mon Valley Food Bank in Finleyville, said donations tend to dry up over the summer.
“People are starting to help us again,” she said. “They think about giving when it gets close to the holidays.”
She said there is more need in the area during the winter because many people work seasonal jobs.
“We get a lot of people who come back in after the lawns and the farms and construction jobs are done for the year,” she said.
She said they are expecting about 200 families in need of food from the food bank.
Monich said the food bank is looking for more donations to keep the families fed over the winter and holidays.
Donations are accepted from 9 a.m. to noon Thursdays and Saturdays at the food bank at 3595 Washington Ave., Finleyville.