Turkey, cranberry sauce and cornbread stuffing may be the staples of a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but to Dianna Bradbury they are reminders of needs unfilled, and of families going without.
As the director of food bank operations for the Ashtabula County Country Neighbor program, Bradbury counsels people through the Thanksgiving holiday, providing as much assistance as she can while preparing for the onslaught of requests for meals through the Christmas holiday.
“While requests for assistance usually increases at the holidays, we don’t have the funding to provide meals at Thanksgiving and Christmas, so we focus on Christmas,” Bradbury said. “What we can do is help people as much as possible around the Thanksgiving holiday so they can afford to buy their holiday meal.”
The Country Neighbor program supplies food to community food pantries in Ashtabula and Geauga counties, Bradbury said, offering an emergency three-day supply of food for needy people and families.
The Country Neighbor food-bank also provides food and nonfood items to soup kitchens, not for profit daycare centers, and shelters in Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula Counties. Country Neighbor distributes an average of 750,000 pounds to organizations within the three counties.
The Geneva food pantry, which operates out of the Geneva Community Center on West Main Street, feeds 25 families a day, three days a week, director Lura Douglas said.
“Thanksgiving is a challenge for us,” Douglas said. “We need more food, more help, more money. Nothing is easy. You want to help and provide food for everyone who needs it because no one should be without a meal on Thanksgiving.”
The Geneva Food Pantry volunteers are preparing for a busy few weeks of packing food, Douglas said.
“It goes without saying that we will have more mouths to feed at this time of year,” she said. “But we are fortunate, very fortunate, to have the support of the community now and through the year. We are a small food pantry, but the community comes forward to donate money and food and we depend on that support.”
Bradbury said donations of non-perishable food and canned goods are accepted at any local food pantry. Monetary donations are also greatly appreciated.
“I always ask for toiletry items like toilet paper, bar soap and shampoo, everyday items that everyone needs and aren’t covered by food stamps,” Bradbury said. “At this time of the year, any donation is appreciated.”
“Around the holidays I also ask for donations of instant potatoes, cranberry sauce and stuffing mix. If we can’t provide the whole meal, then we try to provide the individual parts of the meal,” she said.
Bradbury said she understands people like to donate items to the food pantry, but one dollar can provide an entire meal through the U.S. Department of Agriculture food program.
“Our cost for food is so far below the grocery store costs,” Bradbury said. “We can do so much with just one dollar.”
To donate to the Country Neighbor Program, checks can be mailed to P.O. Box 212, Orwell 44076.
To donate to the Geneva Food Pantry, checks can be mailed to 72 West Main Street, Geneva 44041.
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