Mobile Food Pantry Held On Wheeling Island
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As the distribution began Tuesday morning at the Mountaineer Food Network's Mobile Food Pantry, more than 50 cars had lined up in the parking lot of the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack to take home boxes of food. Claudia Raymer, executive director of the Ohio County Family Resource Network, anticipated many more would file through in the 90 minutes the pantry was operational.
During past distributions, Raymer said, the group would serve 200 cars in that time frame.
"It's definitely concerning," she said. "I mean, we think food is a basic right.
"We wish that the line would get smaller," Raymer added. "It's not getting smaller."
Many of the people in the line Tuesday and in other recent distributions were people with disabilities and senior citizens, people on fixed incomes who are feeling the crunch of increased grocery prices. Those people, Raymer said, are telling volunteers that they never had to access services like the Mobile Food Pantry before.
On Tuesday, those in line were able to receive items like milk, eggs, potatoes, butter, cheese, fish, chicken breast, rice, frozen blueberries, canned veggies and almonds. Those served can take those items home and make a good meal out of them, Raymer said.
Tuesday's pantry was the first since October. Raymer thanked the many volunteers who came out to help, including those from Grow Ohio Valley, UniCare, The Health Plan, as well as many individual community volunteers.
The next Mobile Food Pantry at the Wheeling Island site will be held May 23 from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. There are four planned for the year. Raymer said it was good to see so many in the community come out Tuesday to help, and good to know that programs like the Mobile Food Pantry are available for those in need.
Yet, those people are in need much more than four times a year, so there remains a need for the community to lend a hand at other points.
"Now more than ever, we need people to contribute to things line blessings boxes and volunteering at food distributions," she said, "and really just helping your neighbors."