The Portage County District Library held another pop-up food pantry at its Garrettsville branch Friday morning. Cars were lined up well before distribution started at 9 a.m. At least a half-dozen volunteers bundled up for the bitter cold weather to load boxes of food and bags of produce into cars as they snaked through the line.
More than 100 people came to the library during this latest two hour pop-up, coordinated with the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, according to Annie Zwisler, the public relations manager at the library.
One of them was Sam Larlham, who usually gets food assistance in Newton Falls. While he receives federal food assistance through SNAP, Larlham said it doesn’t cover enough monthly.
"The SNAP helps quite a bit, but it doesn't it get to the end of the month, and that's where the food banks come in handy,” Larlham said. “Without 'em, you'd have to go to family or friends to make ends meet.”
Larlham was interested in the pantry, he said, because he received a flyer saying fresh fruit would be offered.
“Nonperishable is good, you know, when you're hurting and you need,” Larlham said, “but you know, it'd be nice for a change up to get some fresh stuff for the health reasons and the benefits and nutrition that they have.”
Jim Martin, who lives in Nelson Township, had to undergo surgeries following a workplace injury. He says the pop-up pantry was crucial for his ability to make ends meet.
“It's helping a lot,” Martin said. “I mean without this, me and my wife could not make it.”
The Garrettsville branch of the library is one of two new pop-up locations in Portage County for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank since November. The other is at Friendship Bible Church in Randolph, which hosts its next pop-up pantry on Dec. 15 from 9-11 a.m.
Zwisler said she wanted to make it easier for rural Portage residents, who may have trouble reaching urban food pantries to access food assistance.
“A lot of places like our nearby village of Wyndham, they're in food deserts, which means that they don't have access to a grocery store that offers produce or any sustainable food in a certain mileage or certain radius,” Zwisler said. “So having this here is a great way to supplement that and be able to provide assistance to those who need it, as well as being here right before the holidays too.”
Rural areas face unique challenges when it comes to food assistance, according to Todd Schlereth, program outreach manager for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.
“I've seen a lot of smaller communities that have a family dollar to get groceries at and that's it,” Schlereth said.“ ... it's not like going to a large supermarket where you have lots of variety and lots of choices, in particular with fresh produce, things that need to be refrigerated or frozen.”
While more pop-up distributions are scheduled in December and January in Garrettsville and Randolph, Zwisler said she hopes it’ll be a yearly occurrence.
“We're hoping even if maybe next year we can establish something again in November and December for the holiday season, but we're just in that planning mode right now,” Zwisler said.
