*This story originally appeared in The Budget’s March 8, 2017 Local Edition.
By Stacey Carmany
The Budget
Ensuring that no one goes hungry in Tuscarawas County is the goal of the Greater Dover-New Philadelphia Food Pantry, a volunteer-based non- profit food distribution center that has been serving needy individuals and families in the local area since 2008.
During the one-year period between June 29, 2015, and June 24, 2016, the local food pantry distributed an average of 40,600 pounds of food per week or 2.11 million pounds for the entire year, according to the organization’s annual report for Fiscal Year 2015-2016. The pantry served a total of 4,601 households, and each family served took home an average of 69 pounds of food per visit.
Beyond the numbers, the organization serves as a lifeline for those struggling to feed themselves and their families, many of whom are disabled or living on a fixed income.
If it weren’t for the food assistance he receives from the local food pantry, one Mineral City senior said he would have to choose between buying groceries and paying for medicine for his wife. A 58-year-old Stone Creek man said he would probably be forced to scavenge for food from the dumpsters behind grocery stores. “I’m on welfare, but it doesn’t go far,” he explained. “Rent is ridiculous.”
Because the Greater Dover-New Philadelphia is a partner organization of the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, the local food pantry is able to reap the benefits of many state and federal food assistance programs. Those programs allow the organization to feed needy individuals in the community at a very low cost. Jack Ream, president of the board of directors for the Greater Dover-New Philadelphia Food Pantry, said the local pantry’s food cost is so low that, for just $1, the pantry can provide enough food to last an individual for an entire week. “We can get a lot of food for a very, very small amount of money,” he said. “Right now, our food cost is a little over four cents a pound. I don’t think you can beat that.”
Ream added that the local food pantry gets even more bang for its buck by being 100 percent volunteer driven. Everyone from the truck driver to the individuals unloading the truck and distributing the food are donating their time to support the organization. That stretches each dollar even further and enables the pantry to buy more food that can be used to feed more people. “It doesn’t cost us very much to do this as long as we have volunteers,” he said.
It takes about 50 volunteers to run the local food pantry every time it is open, according to Tony Contini, a former U.S. Marine who serves as the organization’s volunteer director. Throughout the year, he said about 500 unique volunteers donate their time to help operate the pantry. No pre-registration is required to volunteer. For those interested in helping out, Contini said all they have to do is simply show up, and he will put them to work.
For Teresa Raber of Dover, it is an experience she enjoys sharing with her 8-year-old daughter Lydia. “We’ve been volunteering for a year now, and we come once a month,” she said. “It’s part of our outreach, as I want her to learn how to give back to the community and be a part of our area in helping people.”
Raber said she and her daughter began volunteering at the local food pantry because it was a convenient place to serve, but what keeps them coming back is the friendly, organized staff. “It’s a really welcoming place to come,” she said.
Of the 4,690 families served in 2015, 2,816 families, or about 61 percent, were from Tuscarawas County, according to the organization’s annual report. Individuals and families who qualify for food from the local food bank are welcome to come back as often as needed. Ream said most people are not regulars. In fact, only about one percent come every week. “Most people don’t come unless they need food,” he explained. “Even though they can get a lot of food for free, they don’t come if they don’t need it.”
Food distribution is based on the number of people in the household. Upon arriving at the pantry, each individual receives a card with a number based on the size of their households. Families with incomes of up to 200 percent of the federally- defined poverty guidelines qualify for food from the local food pantry.
The Greater Dover-New Philadelphia Food Pantry is located on West Third Street in Dover. It is open two days a week – Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon. Individuals with disabilities can come one hour earlier. For more info, call 330-852- 4132.
Update: The organization’s annual report for 2017-2018 is not yet available, however, as of Feb. 3, 2018, the pantry was distributing an average of 44,984 pounds of food each week to approximately 498 families, with each family taking home an average of 90.4 pounds of food. Average food cost was less than four cents per pound.
