Photos by Karen Rase | Greene County News
Empty boxes line the aisles at the Greene County Food Pantry where donations are quickly distributed to those in need. “As quickly as the shipments come in, they are out the door,” said Gail Matson, executive director. “We have more families to feed than ever so we’re doing the best we can.”
Fresh vegetables are always a popular choice at the food bank.
New shipments arrive daily and are quickly separated and distributed.
Pantry clients circulate through the aisles gathering the various offerings from the FISH pantry. Clients can also receive (when supplies are available), hygiene products and dog food.
XENIA — The Greene County Food Pantry (FISH) is seeking donations for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Food supplies are low while the weekly intake of families seeking meals has increased — the need is greater than the supply on hand said Executive Director Gail Matson.
“Every week we get 125-150 additional families coming through,” said Matson.
Regular clients of the food pantry will be handed a free Thanksgiving Day meal from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18. Pantry gates open at 8:45 a.m. and clients will remain in their vehicles through-out the “drive-through lane” where volunteers will distribute a boxed meal to each family (enough to feed a family of four).
“Yes, we still need donations. Every little bit helps. We are so appreciative of everything we get,” said Matson, who has worked on the weekends gathering “Stuff the Truck” donations in front of the Xenia Walmart. Matson and crew also held an Aldi event which resulted in cash donations and skids of donated food.
According to Matson, The Friends In Service to Humanity (FISH) believe in the same ideal: “We are just people wanting to help other people.”
“No matter the story, no matter the circumstances, we strongly believe that every person deserves to be treated with compassion and understanding,” Matson said. “We are a local nonprofit that believes no one should go hungry and local families should have nutritious food to eat. Some of our ‘wish list’ items include bags of sugar/flour, cooking oil, cake/brownie mix, canned meats, cans of tuna, and peanut butter.”
The pantry has also given out customized bags of food to visitors with specialized diets and also works with other food banks to ensure that food isn’t thrown away but instead can be used or stored until it can go to someone who needs it.
“Nothing goes to waste and everything we offer is guaranteed safe as we fallow the proper USDA guidelines,” said Matson, who plans on getting the FISH pantry’s capital campaign back on track the first of the year.
For more information, visit https://www.greenecountyfishpantry.org or call 937-372-8441.
Reach Karen Rase at 937-502-4534.
