AKRON, Ohio — “It is my job to show up for work every day doing the best I can and knowing that I didn’t do enough,” said Katie Carver Reed the Director of Network Partners and Programs at the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.
That is the sentiment of some working at the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. The demand for food is up, while food donations are down by almost 30 percent. A harsh fact being felt throughout the foodbank’s network of over 600 panties, hot food sites and shelters.
“So far this year we have had over 2 million visits to our network. So, every single day in the community these organizations we partner with are serving your neighbors, your coworkers, your friends,” remarked Carver Reed.
Evident by the hundreds in line today during the foodbank’s last drive thru food distribution of the year.
“25% of the people visiting our pantry network have never visited a pantry in our community before,” said Carver Reed.
She says you may not believe exist hunger in your community, but it does, certainly across the foodbank’s eight-county service area.
“That can be really difficult to go to a stranger and ask for help so something like food,” added Carver Reed. “We want to you to feel like you are family and you to feel like, this is OK.”
The foodbank is currently in its 2022 Holiday Campaign, asking for support through food drives, volunteering and financial donations.
“Sometimes we get to be the helper and sometimes we need to be the helped,” stated Carver Reed.
To keep the shelves full, the foodbank has purchased more needed food than ever before. But they have faith in the community they serve to rally around their mission, especially this time of year.
“The holiday season is about food, it’s about fellowship, it is about coming together,” said Carver Reed. “That is what the foodbank does every single day. We provide food to people so that they can nourish themselves and their families of course, but also so they can come together and connect with one another, make these lasting memories that’s what food is that’s what food does. That’s what your foodbank does.”