Communities have had to get creative to address hunger during the recent blast of cold and snow.
The winter weather has forced many schools to cancel classes for multiple days. The closures also mean families who rely on school breakfast and lunch have had to make alternative plans.
“All of our kids [get] breakfast, lunch and snacks. And then we have after school programming, which provides dinner as well. So it is a big disruption for some of them – and for their parents,” said John Monteleone, the principal at Garfield Elementary School in Lorain.
All students in Lorain City Schools are offered free breakfast and lunch. In 2023, Garfield Elementary also started an on-site food pantry to help feed families outside of school hours. Eventually, the service expanded to the greater community.
Now the pantry partners with Second Harvest Food Bank. Neighbors can order their items online and pick them up at the pantry during school days from 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
School was cancelled in Lorain from Friday to Wednesday. Likewise, the pantry had to temporarily shut its doors.
“If the school is closed, we are closed. But as soon as the school opens up, we’re here. So if they had opened for yesterday, their order is here today and they’re going to pick it up today. We just don’t let anybody lapse,” said Cindy Vegh, the school’s secretary who has taken the lead on the school pantry.
Vegh and Monteleone both came to the school during the calamity day on Tuesday to restock the pantry. On Thursday, parent-teacher conferences extended staff hours and allowed the pantry to accommodate clients later than normal.
“The time, it’s 100 percent worth it when people walk out the door and say, ‘Bless you’ or ‘Thank you. You don’t know what this has done for us,'” said Vegh.
Other food assistance was also forced to adjust because of the winter weather.
“We’re always pivoting, trying to find - however we can - how we can meet the need for our neighbors,” said Second Harvest Food Bank president and CEO Julie Chase-Morefield.
The food bank held its most recent mobile pantry on Jan. 14, but snow and cold forced the organization to cancel outdoor mobile distributions for the last two weeks.
“The ice and the snow was just brutal – equipment failure, worrying about the volunteers being outside. It’s been just a really challenging winter so far,” Chase-Morefield said.
She said Second Harvest was able to share some of its perishable food, like produce, with its partner organizations. But it’s also been looking for a more dependable way to continue mobile pantries in the winter.
It sought help from county leaders.
“I thought of this facility because it’s the perfect setup in my opinion. They have lanes you can drive through,” said Lorain County Commissioner Marty Gallagher, pointing to the Lorain County Collection Center in Elyria.
The Lorain County Solid Waste Management District agreed to let the food bank use the recycling facility on Thursdays when it is already closed to the public.
“We’ll hopefully use our our equipment, our staff to unload the Food Bank and the supplies they’re bringing in. We’ll be able to move it over to where they find most appropriate, help lift, move, whatever we can,” said director Thomas Patrick III.
The Collection Center already accommodates about 500 cars weekly, allowing drivers to drive into the large building and drop off everything from hazardous waste and tires to electronics and household recyclables.
The facility will host a drive-thru mobile pantry on Thursday, Feb. 5, from 2 to 4 p.m., at 540 S. Abbe Rd. in Elyria.
Chase-Morefield said the food bank anticipates increased demand during the winter months, especially when families have kids home from school.
“That’s just an extra burden on the family that they’re not used to. So yeah, when school’s out for days on end, kids still have to be fed,” she said.
Elyria City Schools also offers free daily breakfast and lunch to its students.
The district provided the following statement to News 5:
“Elyria City School District is committed to supporting students and families with reliable access to nutritious meals throughout the school year. In partnership with Second Harvest, we provide food to families in need through our monthly pantry. Additionally, all students in our district receive free meals during the school year and summer, and we offer “Super Snack” programs to provide food for students participating in after-school programs and athletics.
We understand the importance of meal service and its impact on families. However, we do not provide student meal service on days when schools are closed for calamity. This is due to a combination of requirements from the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) regarding on-site service, concerns about safely transporting students to meal locations during hazardous conditions, and contractual agreements with food service staff who do not report to work on calamity days.
While there has been a recent change allowing some flexibility in NSLP requirements, it does not resolve the safety or staffing challenges we face; but we continue to remain committed to supporting our students and families within these parameters.”
