Crowded food pantries aided by annual walk against hunger
ZELIENOPLE — About 250 families get food from the Lighthouse Foundation each week and, on average, at least 10% of those families are first-time visitors.
Steve Garcia, food pantry manager for the Lighthouse Foundation, said the organization’s share of the $11,000 raised Sunday, Sept. 15, at the annual A Walk For Hunger, will help keep the food pantry stocked for the people who use it.
“Everything helps,” Garcia said. “During the fourth quarter this will be a huge asset. It’s the greatest need during the holiday times.”
Armstrong’s Breaking Bread program has helped organize the walk annually since 2017, when the agency had only one benefiting organization. Now in its seventh year, the event splits money for six local food banks, including the Lighthouse Foundation, Butler County Community College, Inspired Hearts and Hands, Gleaners Food Bank, Holy Redeemer Social Services and the Southwest Butler Food Cupboard.
On Sunday, more than 90 people walked the trail in Zelienople Community Park, after hearing from the student organizer about the program and food insecurity in the region.
Seth Prentice, community marketing manager for Armstrong, said the company always brings a student from Seneca Valley Senior High School on board to help organize the event and gather sponsors for it. This year, the student was Sydney Heltzell, a senior at Seneca Valley, who said she wanted to get involved to help promote the prominence of food insecurity in the region.
“A lot of people I think just don’t know much about it,” she said. “People should be aware of this, and it’s an important organization that helps that.”
Heltzell on Sunday said she was happy to learn this year’s event had the highest fundraising total of any year of A Walk for Hunger. Prentice said the event has driven nearly $49,000 to local food pantries since it began seven years ago.
Heltzell led the walk Sunday morning, which had participation not only from donors and sponsors, but from representatives from the food banks themselves.
“I don’t think it could have went any better,” Heltzell said.
Juli Louttit, director of financial aid for BC3, said more and more people visit the Pioneer Pantry each school year, so the donations from the walk will help purchase food to keep food on the shelves throughout the school year.
“In August, which usually is a low month, we had 26 people come in and use it,” Louttit said. “The donations are just greatly appreciated. And it’s not just our students, we serve our faculty and staff as well.”
Garcia said the pantry at the Lighthouse Foundation also stocks products that cannot be purchased with money from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds, which donations also help supply. He said after the walk that fundraising events like it are needed to keep up with the need for food pantries the county is seeing.
“If it’s going to be busier, we’ll have more money to help get more food,” Garcia said. “There’s also a lot of things that aren’t covered under food stamps, so people sometimes once a week come to get health and beauty stuff, hygiene stuff.”
