Pantry operators seek to engage locals in need

by Judy Stringer

At the time of this writing, volunteers for the Hudson Community Service Association Food Pantry were ramping up for the second distribution of the year. The pantry, which is housed at Rejoice Lutheran Church, draws between 25-40 “shoppers” for its end-of-month giveaways, according to food pantry Chair Patti Rinehart.

Individuals who show up for the distribution are given mini-grocery carts that they steer around the church’s lobby and hallways to select fresh produce, meat and cheese, and paper and personal care items before heading into the pantry’s main storage room, filled with cans, bottles and boxes of cooking and baking needs.

“They choose what they need themselves and, for the most part, we don’t put any restrictions on what or how much they can take,” Rinehart said, “and that’s really important. We want this to be a place where people feel comfortable coming, where they feel respected, where they feel welcomed.”

Rinehart worked at a food bank in Columbus before moving to Hudson in late 2020. Last summer, she hooked up with the 10-year-old HSCA pantry, which was already undergoing a sort of renaissance with the help of volunteers John and Felicia Leipzig. The couple, who live in Aurora, attend Rejoice Lutheran.

John said he and Felicia lobbied HSCA for a commercial-size freezer refrigerator, which would allow them to store – and ultimately distribute – dairy and meat items for the first time. With the help of students from Ellsworth Hills, who raised $1,400 for the pantry, and a $1,000 check from a Rejoice Lutheran parishioner, HSCA purchased the freezer last year.

“As a result, now families are receiving a minimum of four pounds of meat or more,” John said.

The new team also changed the way it stocked the pantry. Previously, food donations came from all around those in the community, typically via big blue barrels that sat in churches. Organizers then used financial donations to buy additional canned and dry goods at warehouse clubs and area groceries.  

Today, the Hudson pantry stocks its shelves largely with items from the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, which it gets at a huge discount and sometimes for free. Along with the savings, partnering with the regional hunger agency provides more consistency and offers better-quality products to the pantry. Rinehart estimates that at least 20% of the food the pantry gets from community members is more than two years past the expiration date and must be discarded.

They also adjusted the distribution itself, moving to the current process that helps visitors feel more like shoppers by putting them in charge of what they choose.

Now Rinehart and her volunteers are turning their focus to getting the word out.

“A lot of people don’t even realize Hudson has a food pantry, and we know there are many people and families who are eligible but aren’t showing up,” she said.

For example, Rinehart said, the pantry provided about 100 Thanksgiving food baskets to families identified by the Hudson City School District as in need, but only three of those families regularly come to its distributions. In addition, roughly one-third of the 61 households who used the pantry in 2021 attended only one or two of the monthly distributions.

She and the Leipzigs worry that single mothers earning just above minimum wage and seniors who live alone are the ones falling through the cracks – either because they don’t realize they meet eligibility guidelines or don’t want others to know they are struggling.

“We don’t want anyone going hungry,” Rinehart said, adding that accommodations can be made for individuals who don’t attend scheduled distributions for whatever reason. The group is also working on setting up some home delivery options.

The next distribution is March 26. Email pantrymanager@hudsoncsa.org or call 234-380-7402 for more information or specific questions. ∞