One in seven Ohioans faces food insecurity, according to Feeding America. This series is produced in partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio.
Donning bright yellow safety vests, volunteer teachers and staff from Elyria City School District busily unpacked bags of apples and potatoes in the parking lot at Ely Stadium in Elyria earlier this summer.
Not long after, dozens of cars lined up at the stadium, waiting for a free food pantry from Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio. The pantry location in Elyria distributes enough food for about 300 to 350 households on average each month.
Molly Knight, wearing a t-shirt proclaiming her love for teaching math, has volunteered at almost every single food pantry distribution since the food bank's partnership with the school district launched in 2018. She teaches algebra and pre-algebra at Westwood Middle School.
"I love our kids. I love what I do, and this is just one way to give back," she said, adding that everyone is invited to help on distribution days. Volunteers start around 3 p.m. and the food bank runs from 4-5:30 p.m., she said.
"People are here lined up ahead of time, because there's definitely need," she said. "We need more donations. We need our politicians to get on board to help out our families, instead of cutting what's going to our families who are in need. And we could have our politicians out here instead of just before elections. We would love to have other people come out here to help us."
Use of mobile food pantries like the one at Ely Stadium skyrocketed during the pandemic. Even now, Second Harvest said demand for its services across the four-county area it serves is 40% higher than it was pre-pandemic, as prices of food have increased.
Rosalie Mihalis, who was waiting in line in her car, is one of many Elyria residents who regularly come to the mobile food pantry.
"I live strictly on Social Security, so this definitely supplements my income," she said. "I was able to work until a couple of years ago, but I had to have a knee replacement surgery, so that kind of knocked me out of the work."
Born and raised in Elyria, she’s the last of her immediate family who live in the city, and she’s watched as the fabric of the community has changed over the years. About 20% of the city lives in poverty, almost double what it was at the turn of the century. She listed some of the local industries that have left Elyria, taking jobs with them and leaving older residents to remain in the city while younger generations leave for better work.
"I think Elyria has lost a lot of industry... they were noted for having a lot of smaller industry," she said. "So much of it's leaving. Riddell left. It's in North Ridgeville now. Bendix Westinghouse is moving to Avon. They had General Motors, that left several years ago. So actually a lot of the good paying companies have gone by the wayside... and that has really affected the economy."
Just down the line, the mobile food pantry was also helpful for Timothy Schlüter, who brought his dog, a little brown-and-white spaniel named Jewels. Also on a fixed income, he said he takes what he can get from food distributions like these, but he’s been hoping for more fresh food lately.
"I'm on disability now," he explained. "I don't know if you've seen the price of fresh produce lately... I typically come in the summertime and try to get produce. I mean, I don't have any use for things like the macaroni and cheese and stuff like that that they put in there, (like) ravioli and SpaghettiOs."
Back with the line of volunteers, Melissa Frabotta, a school nurse at Elyria High School, busily stacked food into cars’ trunks. She recently started bringing her 16-year-old son, Seth, with her to volunteer at the mobile food pantry. Frabotta has her master’s degree in public health, and said students who don’t get enough to eat won’t do well in school. For reference, almost three out of four of families participate in the free-and-reduced lunch program at the school district.
"Families stressing over where their next meal is, or stressing over whether they’re going to feed their kids that day, puts a stress on the whole family, not just the parents, but the children and the people that are part of it," she said.
She added that food banks are providing as much fresh food as they can.
"A lot of people, they can only afford high-carb, dense foods, and here we’re giving them, every time, some vegetables, they get some meats. They get a variety of stuff, so I think that helps give them that healthier balance of food compared to what's easiest to afford," she said.
School staff and students make up the bulk of the 20 to 25 volunteers at the Ely Stadium mobile food pantry each month, one of about 10 sites throughout Second Harvest’s four-county service area. It’s important for the school district to show up for their community, Frabotta said.
"The people are so appreciative when you give them the food," she said. "And it's just such a great vibe, and the people we work with here are always so positive. It's just a really good feeling you get working here."
The food pantry takes place on the last Monday of every month at Ely Stadium in Elyria.
