LORAIN, Ohio — Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio hosted its second emergency food pantry pop-up this month.
RELATED: Hundreds of cars lined up for hours ahead of an emergency drive-thru pantry in Lorain County
Second Harvest's Vice President of External Affairs, Susan Bartosch, told me the pop-up was planned about a week ago to help anyone in need, especially those who are stuck in limbo as SNAP benefits have been paused for almost two weeks.
"At first we were talking about 700 families, but we're prepared to be able to serve 900 today," Bartosch said. "We were able to get some food out of some of our emergency reserves and to purchase extra food to be able to even have this."
Shelf-stable boxes were prepared by volunteers to hand out on Wednesday.
Pears, onions, ground beef, apples, eggs and more were also handed out.
Bartosch said volunteers typically pass out 1,000 boxes a week during this time of the year, but mentioned that with the increased food insecurity, the number has doubled.
"We're all in this together and certainly look at the people that are driving by that are getting some food that they really, really need a lot of. Single moms and kids and seniors and disabled people that generally just don't know what to do right now when they're kind of caught in the middle of a lot of things, so we're all happy. It makes us all happy to be able to solve some problems," she said.
The emergency pop-up went from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Hundreds of cars were lined up prior to the start of the drive-through.
One of the first hundred to secure a box was Lynne Bowers.
She said the last month has not been great for her, so when she heard about the pop-up, she had to be there.
"It's fantastic. It's a godsend. I mean, seriously, I really am so grateful to everybody that donates," Bowers said. "What they give and provide for us is amazing and I absolutely am grateful."
Also in line was Shirley Gatewood.
Gatewood told me she's been in a pickle for the last month.
"Short on food. I don't have enough Social Security money. I only get Social Security and so this helps me out a lot because that's not enough," Gatewood said.
She told me she's grateful for the volunteers and the food she received.
Larry Hamrick said he's also very appreciative of the helping hand he and his daughter received on Wednesday from Second Harvest.
"It's been rough. The money, the food, this is hard to get," Hamrick said.
Bartosch said Wednesday's event went smoothly and she's proud of her team for helping as many people as they did.
"We kind of started with knowing how to do this kind of thing five years ago at the beginning of COVID, and we know how to pivot. We know how to set things up, get things going. We've got partners, we've got relationships and the community, so it's smooth. Not only are we trying to bring food to people, but a little bit of hope, and I think you can kind of see that, that we're trying to do that," she said.
Second Harvest will continue supporting the community through drive-thru food pantries.
On Thursday, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., Second Harvest will have a mobile pantry at Ely Stadium in Elyria.
If you're looking to donate or volunteer your time with Second Harvest, visit its website.
