MARSHALL COUNTY, Okla. (KXII) - The shelves are nearly bare at the Hope For Marshall County food pantry causing it to temporarily close for the month of August.
"Donations are down just so low that we are not getting enough to meet the needs of what seem to be going out," Director Gwen Wilson said. "So we're reaching out to the community saying 'Hey, we need some help here restocking the shelves,' because we see 250, 300 people a month."
Wilson said the pantry serves lots of senior citizens.
She said many struggle with finding fresh food and basic hygiene items due to being on very small incomes.
"It's heartbreaking when we get calls from nurses that we have senior citizens sharing a can of cat food with their cat because that's all they have to eat," Wilson said.
Even with the pantry closed for now, Hope For Marshall County is still running its other programs.
One of those is the Hope food boxes, where people can take what they need or donate non-perishable food directly to boxes at nine locations in Marshall, Love and Johnston counties.
"Even one single can could mean the difference between someone having a meal for that night and having nothing to eat," Wilson said.
Wilson said people can donate to the pantry in several ways such as giving money or even bringing fruit or vegetables from a garden.
"The smallest act could make a difference and change a life and help these people just know that they're seen, they're heard and that somebody cares," Wilson said.
HFMC Food Pantry address:
19111 Elizabeth Blvd
Oakland, Oklahoma 73446
(580) 677-0429
hfmcpantry@yahoo.com
