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Marshall County nonprofits, faith organizations and businesses are working together to feed the area's residents in need this summer.
According to Stacie Dei, executive director of the Marshall County Family Resource Network, area food pantries, soup kitchens and other organizations that provide meal assistance have witnessed an increase in individuals and families seeking their services in recent months, which inspired FRN staff to begin a donation drive. According to Dei, the network is looking for local organizations and businesses to form donor teams for its "Hunger Doesn't Take a Summer Vacation" community food drive.
"Summer is always a difficult time because I don't think people think to donate during that time," Dei said. "We have a very generous community, but most people associate food donations with the holidays, so there's a drought during the summer. Schools also dismiss, requiring parents to provide three meals for the summer, rather than one each day as opposed to free breakfast and lunch during the academic year."
The FRN will host a team meeting at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at its center. Lunch will be provided, so an RSVP is required by Friday.
On July 25, teams can drop off their donations at the former West Virginia Penitentiary from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Moundsville Center. The following day, food pantry volunteers can receive the donations from noon to 3 p.m.
Sara Wood, a project coordinator for FRN, said the local impact of hunger was felt significantly at Feeding Body and Soul Community Kitchen, housed at Simpson United Methodist Church. The kitchen will be one of the many county recipients for food donations from the project.
"Four years ago they were serving about 75 people per day, now they're having on average 150 Monday through Saturday for lunch, and they've seen a high of 220," Wood said. "The House of the Carpenter has also signed up 20 new clients and seen quite an increase over the years in individuals coming in for food-related assistance."
According to Wood, several teams have already committed to the project, including representatives from Chevron, Williams Energy, the city of Moundsville, BB&T, Reynolds Memorial Hospital, Happy Tails Pet Salon and Legal Aid of West Virginia.
Teresa Devlin, chairperson for the food pantry at Ash Avenue Church of God in Moundsville, who has volunteered for Feeding Body and Soul, said networking is the key to Marshall County's success with services.
"One thing I really like about the Moundsville area is that we do network very well together," Devlin said. "The summer really hits our stock. What we normally order increases by a third. The donations will keep us from spending money from the church's operating funds for food."