Wednesday, November 13, 2024
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Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties Know Your Neighbor . . . . . . . 2➤ Good Neighbors . . . . . . . . . 4 Entertainment . . . . . . . 6-7
Vol. 54, No. 21
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
Nonprofits step up to meet
FALL FOOD DEMAND
By LILLI DWYER Staff Writer
As fall continues and the Thanksgiving season approaches, food pantries and other organizations are preparing to do everything they can to address food insecurity in their communities. Combined Community Services of Warsaw, for instance, typically serves about 800 families through its food pantry every month. Shawne Buller of CCS reported the pantry served 912 families in the month of October. The annual Food-A-Thon food drive is held every November in order to keep up its stock through the winter months. Warsaw Salvation Army Envoy Ken Locke has found an uptick in demand for food pantry offerings. “When we compare it over last year, we saw a 17% increase in requests,” he noted. Locke said there could be several reasons for the recent increase, but, “I think the main thing is food costs are up right now. And if people are on a fixed income, they’re really trying to stretch that.” For many, food pantry offerings can help fill in the gaps where their needs are not being met. “If they want to have something for their holiday, maybe they’re trying to bring their family together, then this just helps to supplement what they’re trying to do,” Locke added. Also, in the spirit of community assistance, the Elks Lodge of Warsaw offers a Thanksgiving meal at no cost to the public each year. People can either pick up their meals at American Legion Post 49, 301 N. Buffalo St., Warsaw, or call (574) 267-7802 to have meals delivered to their home. Delivery orders can be placed up until Wednesday, Nov. 27. Meal pickup is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 28. Roger Hughes of the Elks Lodge
mentioned its organization has been carrying on the tradition of the community Thanksgiving dinner for 44 years now, and many of the same volunteers have been cooking, delivering and handing out meals for the past 20 years. “They feel the need in the community,” said Hughes. “There’s a lot of older people that can’t get out and if we weren’t doing Thanksgiving for them, then they wouldn’t have Thanksgiving. I think that’s the drive for most of the people that help out; they just want to make sure that people are getting a Thanksgiving dinner.” For those in the Nappanee area, The Center has a food pantry and offers something similar. Anyone who lives within the Wa-Nee Community Schools district or
STOCKING UP — In the fall, area food pantries are looking to keep their shelves stocked. Combined Community Service of Warsaw holds its Food-a-Thon food drive every November to keep the pantry stocked through the winter. This year’s drive took place Nov. 8-9. Last year, volunteers from local businesses, including Zimmer-Biomet, chipped in to fill the pantry. Photo provided by Combined Community Services.
FILLING A NEED — Last year, the Food-aThon food drive brought in over 6,000 pounds of food. CCS’ pantry typically serves 800 families per month, with a total of 912 families served in October. Photo provided by Combined Community Services.
who has children in the schools can receive Thanksgiving dinner trimmings and a Martin’s Supermarket gift card for their own turkey or ham. The Center is located at 107 E. Marion St., Nappanee. Pick-up times are during regu-
lar food pantry hours: 1-3:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19; Thursday, Nov. 21; and Tuesday, Nov. 26. Not all food pantries offer specific holiday help, but there are still several places which can help meet food needs this fall and winter.
Other area food pantries include: • Nappanee Open Door, 292 S. Main St., Nappanee. • Fairfield Food Pantry, 67493 CR 23, New Paris. • Washington Township Food Pantry, 124 N. 1st St., Pierceton.
• Gospel Hill Pentecostal, 303 S. Jefferson St., Silver Lake. • Our Father’s Pantry, 2212 E. Winona Ave., Warsaw. More information on food pantries in Elkhart and Kosciusko counties can be found at feedindiana.org/food-pantries.