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Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024
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Help for the holidays Second Harvest handles Thanksgiving — now it’s on to Christmas Some 2,000 get Holiday Cheer turkey dinners needs $100,000 Carissa Woytach The Community Guide
Owen MacMillan The Community Guide
ELYRIA — In the fourth year of Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio’s Thanksgiving food distribution, nearly 2,000 Lorain County families received the holiday meal they will gather around today. The event on Saturday took over several parking lots at Lorain County Community College, as dozens of volunteers in neon vests worked in unison to move thousands of people and cars through their assembly linelike food bank. In all, Second Harvest President and CEO Julie Chase-Morefield said that the distribution served 1,966 families totaling 8,398 people. She said 61 percent of the families served have children. This year’s distribution saw slightly fewer recipients than the previous two years — the event broke 2,000 families in 2022 and 2023 — but ChaseMorefield said that the need for food among Lorain County families is as great as ever. “We’ve been talking a lot about how from previous years the need (for food banks) is up about 32 percent, that just is not changing,” Chase-Morefield said. “And one of our big concerns is just not being able to have the food and resources we need to meet the need.” Lorain-based Second Harvest serves residents in Crawford, Erie, Huron and Lorain counties and began its now annual Thanksgiving food distributions in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Sam Flores, Second Harvest’s director of program and partner services, said that Lorain See TURKEYS, A2
OWEN MACMILLAN / COMMUNITY GUIDE PHOTOS
Brad and Stephany Barhorst volunteer at the Second Harvest Thanksgiving food distribution at Lorain County Community College on Saturday.
Cars filled with people waiting to receive their Thanksgiving meals are lined up as far as the eye can see in the college’s parking lots.
Now through Dec. 24, Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio hopes to raise $100,000 to fund food pantries, hot meal programs and food distributions in Lorain, Erie, Huron and Crawford counties. The Holiday Cheer campaign, in its 41st year, has raised more than $1.6 million since its inception. Second Harvest President/CEO Julie Chase-Morefield said the Holiday Cheer campaign will help buoy Second Harvest and its partner programs through the end of the year. “These dollars that come through are going to help our programs, our food pantries especially, to be able to have additional food,” Chase-Morefield said. This year, WOBL/WDLW partnered with Second Harvest to promote the campaign. The Oberlin-based radio stations’ disk jockeys will be traveling throughout Lorain County from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 6 to pick up donations, while on-air staff try to raise $10,000 in one day. From Dec. 13-15, Ohio Metallurgical, First Federal Savings and Loan, Buckeye Community Bank and Wickens Herzer and Panza will match up to $10,000 in donations. Chase-Morefield said donations from grocery stores have fallen since the pandemic, forcing Second Harvest to purchase more food than it had in the past. She said while families coming through See $100,000, A2
Don’t be disconnected; heating help available The Chronicle-Telegram
Lorain County Community Action Agency’s Winter Crisis Program provides heating assistance for residents without heat or are threatened with disconnection. The program, which runs through March 31, is available to individuals at or below 175 percent of the federal poverty level — about $52,500 for a family of four — who have had their heat disconnected, received a disconnection notice, need to establish
new service, need to pay to transfer a service, have less than a 10-day supply of bulk fuel like wood, coal, pellets, propane or oil or have defaulted on a percentage of an income payment plan. Those with a pending disconnection notice should make an appointment at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled disconnection to keep it from happeniong. In-person, walk-in services are available 8-11 a.m. and 12:30-3:30 p.m. Tuesdays
Georgia Kurtz, 2, and her sister, Vivian Kurtz, 4, cast their votes for their favorite houses at the Avon Lake Public Library.
and Thursdays at Second Baptist Church, 427 Chapman Lane, Elyria. In-person appointments are available 8-11 a.m. and 12:30-3:30 p.m. Fridays at the Office on Aging Wellington location, 105 Maple St. by calling (440) 731-2640. Seniors can walk in for appointments from 8-11 a.m. and 12:30-3:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at the Office on Aging, 534 S. Abbe Road, Elyria. The maximum crisis benefits are: $175
for regulated gas and electric utilities; $750 for unregulated utilities; $1,200 for bulk fuel, propane, heating oil or kerosene; $650 for coal or wood. The program can also fund up to $1,500 for heating unit repairs or replacement. There is also help for residents without a disconnection notice through another program. For more information, including necessery documentation, or for questions, call (440) 245-1870.
Crush ’em with a sweet vote at the library
BRUCE BISHOP / COMMUNITY GUIDE
The Avon Lake Public Library transformed into a winter wonderland for its third annual gingerbread house contest. This year the library partnered with the Lake Erie Crushers to allow the winner in each of the library’s four categories to be on display as part of Christmas Around the
World, a holiday festival at the stadium every weekend from Friday to Dec. 30. The four categories at the library’s gingerbread contest are adults, families, teens (ages 12-17) and kids (11 and under). Shea Alltmont, library communications manager, said the 12 participating gingerbread houses brought
fierce competition this year. Alltmont highlighted one contestant who made their gingerbread house with plans to set it outside for birds to enjoy.The decorations on that house were all made of birdseed and nuts. Voting runs through Tuesday. Gingerbread houses will be on display through Dec. 12.
INSIDE THIS WEEK Amherst
Wellington
Firelands
Details of the sad mom-son murder-suicide. A3
Girls basketball team beats Rittman. A6
Students raise $6,000 in “penny war.” A6
SPORTS A6 • CROSSWORD A7 • SUDOKU A7 • KID SCOOP A8